The Heart vs the Body
by LizzeXX
Summary: Spock/OC – Spock had chosen Cora, an Empathic, to be his mate. But as emotions heighten onboard the Enterprise, tensions run high and, for a woman who senses emotions, things grow complicated. Revenge, anger, love, and lust run wild. With the untrustworthy Khan prisoner and Kirk swearing revenge, how will Cora deal with Spock...when Pon Farr sets in? Second in the Vulcan Archives.
1. Odd Stirrings

A/N: Welcome! :) This is the second story in my Vulcan Archives collection, featuring a Spock/OC pairing :) I would recommend that new readers check out the first story, The Mind vs. the Heart, to understand the relationship Spock has developed with my OC Cora and her backstory. Just to warn, I haven't seen much of the original series or any of the different continuations of it, so this story will be mostly based on the movies with some things I do know of Star Trek popping up.

This story will be about 12 chapters long, updated daily, and, unlike my first story of the series, will be more like a giant version of the movie with quite a few original scenes and bridging moments put in. I wanted to add original scenes to give more background to Spock and what he'll be going through in this story, explaining how it's affecting the movie portions ;)

I'm going to do my best to keep Spock in character, however, keep in mind, Pon Farr will be setting in during this story so I will try to delve into his mind and make the changes and reactions he has appropriate :)

I hope you enjoy :)

~8~ is a scene break

Disclaimer...I don't own Star Trek...if I did, I'd have moved to Ireland by now :)

~8~

Odd Stirrings

Cora smiled to herself as she walked down the halls of the Enterprise, heading for the Bridge where Captain James T. Kirk had called the key members of the crew to discuss their next mission…or what he liked to call a mission. Spock was in favor of calling it a 'purposeful disregard for the prime directive' in most cases. She had to admit, both men were correct. Kirk was very fond of giving them tasks that helped other civilizations and planets, though they often always came close to violating the rules and regulations of Starfleet. So far though he hadn't broken the rules per say, more just…bent them.

So far though.

She stepped up to the doors of the Bridge, waiting till they parted for her before entering, her teal eyes, the eyes of her people, immediately meeting Spock's at his post off to the side. She felt herself smiling even wider, felt a bit of a blush come to her cheeks when she saw his lips quirk up in the corner. It was often as much a smile as she could get from him but it didn't matter to her if he fully smiled or not, because she could…feel it, how happy he was to see her.

Well, she hoped he'd be happy, she was his mate apparently.

Oh that was still taking her time to get used to, the thought that she was his mate, that she was irrevocably bound to him, and to a Vulcan no less, her an Empathic. Her people were known for their ability to not only sense but manipulate the emotions of those around them. It was why they were such enormous assets to the Fleet, so much so that they spent funds that could have gone towards the building of another starship to buy her from her masters, the Mas'heirs, who ruled her planet Hestia with an iron fist and forced her and her people into the chains of slavery. The Fleet saw her and her kind as tools, useful in the most delicate of negotiations and in hostile or dire situations. They had the ability to manipulate others to feel calm, to feel scared, to be more…agreeable to terms of a contract even, more willing to listen and negotiate. They could tell if others were lying if they had ill intent, if they were hiding something. They were very useful to the Fleet.

She had had trouble adjusting, of course, not just to being free, to not have to bow her head or look away or remain quiet, but to…being around others. Her time in the Academy had been full of hostilities and rampant emotions of the other Cadets, but there had been on oasis of calm and peace…Spock. Being a Vulcan his emotions were more controlled, he had offered he sanctuary in his office, acting as a tutor throughout her years there, and they had grown…close, closer than most. They understood each other in a way no one else could. He perceived her strength, he understood her history her challenges, he felt protective of her and did all he could to keep her strong and show her how truly amazing she as, how much spirit she had despite being a slave most of her life. She understood the emotions he held within and rarely showed. She could see it in his expressions and gestures and on the inside what he felt at any given moment and didn't expect more of him that what he offered. She allowed him to be both human and Vulcan at once instead of forcing him to choose or trying to drag the other aspect of his biology out of him.

And now, years after having first met him, she as his mate. Together they had forged an empathetic bond on her side, allowing her a more direct link to his emotions, as was customary for her people when a partner was selected for them, her people thriving on emotion and connection. She could feel what he felt stronger than she could what others felt. Together they had developed a telepathic bond for Spock to her. He had a stronger sense of what she thought as a result. Though she could not read his mind, he could not read her emotions yet they…fit. They understood each other that the bonds were almost not needed if not for their cultural significance.

His telepathic bond to her meant she was his mate, her empathetic bond to him meant he was her…well, she wasn't sure exactly what the term was for her people, it had been lost through the ages. The point was, they were together and she…felt it even now, what he felt.

It made her feel warm that, even if all he gave her was a lip-quirk and a nod, that she KNEW, that she felt he was truly happy to see her. It was one reason the other crew members had a harder time understanding them. She was an Empathic, she was meant to flourish on emotion and Spock was the most stoic and 'unfeeling' of them all. But she knew better, it wasn't that Vulcans didn't feel, it was the opposite, they felt more deeply and powerfully than any other species, they just…controlled it better. Just because he didn't express his emotions didn't mean she didn't feel them.

"Hello Spock," she walked over to him,

"Cora," he greeted with a nod.

"Do you know why James T. Kirk has asked us down here?" she wondered.

She was…trying to break a habit all Empathics had, of showing 'superiors' respect, in which all others were superior to them. It seemed to irritate Kirk when she attempted to do so and call him 'sir,' and she had just managed to stop doing so. He kept insisting she call him just Jim though which she could NOT do. Instead she tried to break out of calling him 'Captain Kirk' when not in the same room as him, so it became his full name, as was also a custom and a sign of respect, though one that seemed to irritate the crew less so than calling Kirk 'Captain' every single time, even though he WAS the captain.

"I do not know," Spock replied, "He has had us stationed above Nibiru for the last three days. I am uncertain as to why."

She nodded, she wasn't sure either. They had been assigned to observe the local 'developing' planets, Nibiru was Class M, one of the perfect ones to watch a species starting to evolve. She didn't know why Kirk would call them there, it had been months since they were ALL called there. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, it reminded her too much of when Nero had attacked, how they had all gathered in the Bridge to try and convince former Captain Pike not to go aboard the enemy ship.

"Captain on ze Bridge!" Chekov called as the doors to the Bridge opened and Kirk, in his gold captain's uniform, walked in.

"Good," Kirk clapped, "You're all here," he moved to the captain's chair.

"Captain," Spock greeted, "Might I inquire the reason for this meeting?"

"Mr. Spock I'd be shocked if you didn't," Kirk joked, before tapping a few buttons on the control pad of the chair, bringing up an image of Nibiru on the viewscreen, zooming in on a few coordinates, getting them closer and closer to the planet's surface till they were right above a rather black area that seemed to be slowly consuming the planet.

"What is that?" Uhura frowned, standing to move closer to the chair, looking at the black thickness.

"Ash," Kirk responded, "Mr. Chekov?"

"Yes, Captain," Chekov nodded, explaining a few scans that came up, "Recent scans of ze surface of Nibiru rewealed seismic actiwity connected to this," he brought up another image of a volcano, "Ze wolcano is beginning to erupt and, by my calculations, will do so with such a force that it will wipe out ze indigenous species that liwe on ze planets surface."

"Thank you Mr. Chekov," Kirk grinned, before glancing around, "Our new mission, stop the volcano."

Uhura rolled her eyes, "And how do you plan to do that Captain?"

"Cold-fusion device," Kirk remarked, "Drop one into the volcano, freeze the magma, all's well that ends well."

"There are a great number of flaws in this mission Captain," Spock cut in, "For one, a cold fusion device cannot be activated remotely but must be done by hand. How do you propose we accomplish this?"

"Well, I was thinking we fly into the volcano, drop down into it, and set the device off, getting the hell off the planet before it goes off."

Cora frowned, "But…Captain Kirk, we are not to be seen by the natives," she remarked, "They are a Class M Planet…"

"It would violate the prime directive," Spock agreed.

"Then we hide the ship and send a shuttle," Kirk shrugged.

"A shuttle would still easily be seen by the indigenous species," Spock argued.

"Then we distract them."

"How?" Uhura scoffed.

Kirk rolled his eyes at all their nitpicking at his plan, Cora frowning as she sensed him growing frustrated, "Alright, then we sit here, in our ship, and watch as all those people down their burn and then our mission's over, no natives to observe."

"Captain…" Spock began after a moment of silence.

"What now, Mr. Spock?" Kirk rubbed his head, "What objection do you have this time?"

Spock blinked, "I was merely going to suggest, as a distraction, perhaps a small task force could be sent planetside and gain the indigenous species' attention, leading them off in order for a shuttle to sneak behind them."

Kirk blinked and stared at Spock a moment, "Did you just…agree with my plan?"

"I believe I did," Spock nodded.

Kirk grinned, "Excellent suggestion Spock," he turned to Sulu, "Mr. Sulu, I'm designating you as shuttle pilot, go see that one's ready."

"Yes sir," Sulu stood, heading out.

"Uhura, with him," he added and Uhura left the room, "Spock," he turned to the Vulcan, "I'm trusting you to prepare the cold fusion device," he pointed at the man, "You're the only member of the crew who knows how to work it and can withstand the temperatures of the volcano in one of the heat resistant suits, clear?" Spock nodded at that, knowing Kirk was referring to his lost home planet, to the heat of it and also to the natural strength Vulcans had that were slightly more than the humans, "Bones!" he cheered as the man stepped into the Bridge as Uhura left, "You, me, and Cor are going to take a little stroll," he got up and slapped McCoy's shoulder as he passed, heading out of the room.

Cora sighed as she shook her head at Kirk, the last few months had been an experience for all of them. Kirk had a rather strange sense of adventure and fun, which often involved them all running for their lives or rushing to the defense of someone else. Even the shortest, most planned out missions never went according to plan. It had been one daring mission after another but she had to admit it had brought them all closer. She was often paired with whichever team was going to be dealing with the people, which she was excited for, to expand her abilities. Usually that meant she and Kirk were on the same mission team and she had gotten to know the man very well, he teased her at times, especially when she said something that sounded too 'Spockish' as he called it. She knew Kirk cared for her in the way a Captain cared for his crew or a brother cared for a sister.

"Will you be alright?" she asked Spock, still staring at the screen with the information and images of the volcano. She frowned when Spock didn't answer and looked at him to see he'd been staring at her the entire time, "Spock?"

He blinked, straightening as though shaking himself from his thoughts or logical reasonings for things and looked at her, "My apologies," he blinked a few more times, as though he hadn't been aware she'd spoke, "What did you say?"

"Are you alright Spock?" she had to ask instead, it…wasn't like him to become so distracted and over her of all things.

"I am well," he nodded, "What was your first question?"

She blinked and eyed him, knowing he was telling her the truth but that something was still bothering her about it. It really wasn't like him to be so distracted that he missed a question being asked. Even when he was angry or citing the rules or arguing with Kirk he always seemed to hear when others asked him question.

"Will you be alright?" she asked him.

He nodded, "I will be," he stood, ready to prepare, gesturing to the doors as he followed her out and into the turbolift, "You shall be careful as well?"

She nodded, "Of course," she smiled, "James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy will protect me as I will them."

They fell into silence a moment before she glanced at him, reaching out to stop the lift, "Why did you agree?" she had to ask, she'd felt a…shift in him as Kirk spoke about the planet, felt him go from wanting to follow the prime directive to…considering Kirk's proposal seriously.

Spock tilted his head as he observed her, "We have both…experienced the loss of a planet and a people," he began delicately both because it was difficult for him to bring up what happened to his homeplanet, but also because he did not want to remind her or trigger any thoughts of what SHE had endured when Vulcan was destroyed, how she'd felt billions of his people dying in an instant, "I…did not wish to experience the again."

She blinked, "You mean me."

She could feel that as well, his emotions were full of concern for HER, not himself. The destruction of a planet or a species would be terrible yes, but he had no tie to it or the people, not like Vulcan. He would be indifferent, seeing it as a natural course in the planet's life. But…SHE would feel it, she would feel those people burning to death as the ship wouldn't be allowed to leave till after the eruption to catalogue it for their log. She would be forced to feel it happen again, feel a people dying and a planet ruined.

He was trying to spare HER that pain once more.

"Yes," he nodded, speaking simply, "That is not…something I wish to see ever again."

She smiled softly at him, at how he was willing to…bend the rules as Kirk did to do this for her, "You might end up breaking a rule," she reminded him.

"I do no believe so," he argued lightly, "If we remain unseen and the ship and other technologies unobserved, the natives need never know that we were there or that we had affected the volcano."

He didn't add that, in the back of his mind, the VERY back of his mind...it would be...worth it, to break a rule if it meant his mate would not suffer. Cora was...one of the most important things in his life. She had been there for him through the most devastating times, she had helped him understand who he was without even trying, she had helped him accept the half of himself he had tried hard to bury. He was...better, stronger, more...complete because of her. He did not ever want to see her harmed because of him again, like she had been when HIS planet had been attacked. He never wanted to be the cause of her distress, but be a...source of comfort and strength, like she was to him.

Cora nodded, that made sense. But still, she couldn't help but reach out and place a hand on his arm, lightly turning him to face her, "Thank you," she whispered, holding out two fingers to him.

He felt his lips quirk at the gesture, she often did that first, as a first move, offer him a Vulcan version of a kiss and let him decide whether to accept it or require something more than the touching of fingers from her. He had noticed lately that he was starting to feel the need to kiss her lips more so than touch her fingers. It was as though his Vulcan half was slowly coming to terms with the fact she was his mate and she deserved affection and attention from him. His Vulcan half was slowly accepting that Cora was an Empathic and needed more physical touch than a Vulcan would and, oddly, seemed to be agreeable to it, to doing so, to keep his mate happy.

He reached out and pressed his two fingers to her, watching as she smiled softly at him for the action, before he continued, curling his two fingers around hers and tugging her gently towards him. He leaned down, his other hand lifting her chin slightly, an automatic reaction it seemed after all the years of tilting her head up to get her to look at him, as he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers, feeling a familiar tingle race though him.

Though this time, it was…odd…it was as though the tingles were racing faster, heating up, warming him more than normal…

Odd, but not alarming.

A/N: Oh Spock, anything that's 'odd' you should watch out for ;) I know this chapter was a little short, it was more an introduction/opening to explain how we get to Nibiru and why Spock was helping them 'bend a rule' :) And also show the hints and beginnings of a plot for this story...

Pon Farr will be popping up! I'm very excited to try my hand at it, I find it interesting and challenging to write a Spock that's slowly losing control but still try to keep him in character. Fingers crossed I'll manage it :) I can say as a warning, I won't be writing any lemons or limes or anything like that, they come out ridiculously weird and truly awful when I even attempt, but we will have rather intimate moments to come and lots of confusion. But...just keep in mind, Spock was quite angry by the end of this movie so we _may not_ even see it come to a head in one sense of Pon Farr with Cora ;) And just so say, I've heard rumors that the 3rd movie might feature Pon Farr, I've already got a backup plan in mind for ways to tweak/replace those moments if it does factor into ST3 ;)


	2. Planet: Nibiru

Planet: Nibiru

Three cloaked figures, covered in dark cloth with scraps of it wrapped around their heads ran as fast as they could through the fields of tall red vegetation on the Class M Planet of Nibiru. They were racing through the red landscape, the shouts and grunts of the natives behind them. One of the figures looked back over their shoulder, their teal eyes piercing out through the small gap in their head covering to see the natives, completely white skinned humanoids with completely black eyes, clothed in yellow draped fabrics, gaining on them.

"They are getting closer!" she, for clearly it was a she, shouted ahead to the two figures before her.

One looked back, seeing her lagging behind and reached out a hand to her, grabbing it and tugging her on faster, even with him, "Come on!" he urged her, trying to keep her going, knowing that a certain pointy-eared bastard would forget logic and brutally murder him with his bare hands if he let _anything_ happen to the man's mate.

The man ahead of the two of them ran on…but they jerked back when a large, rather ferocious-looking alien reared up before them. The man quickly whipped out his phaser and blasted the alien on instinct.

"Damn it man!" McCoy ripped off his head covering as he turned to face them, watching as the alien keeled over, "That was our ride. You just stunned our ride!"

"Great," Kirk muttered, tugging down his own head covering as he stared at the alien.

"Run!" Cora urged, not bothering to touch her covering as she urged Kirk on this time, sensing the other natives approaching before she could hear them.

They were in too large a group and they weren't supposed to interfere with them in the first place, she couldn't stand still long enough to use her abilities to manipulate emotions on them. She knew she had only been requested to join Kirk and McCoy on the planet's surface as a safety measure, a failsafe, to try and keep the natives from not noticing them until the time came to try and distract them. She needed to be able to focus her abilities, something she was unable to do as she was running for her life.

They were meant to merely find something that would have the natives occupied for the next few minutes while Uhura, Sulu, and Spock made their own attempt at a rescue with the rather active volcano behind them…unfortunately, Kirk had taken it a bit far and been spotted and now they were being hunted down by the natives.

"What the hell did you take?!" McCoy shouted at Kirk as they ran, Kirk in the lead, with Cora behind him, McCoy in the rear, both men trying to keep her safe so as not to incur Spock's wrath should she come to harm.

"I have no idea but they were bowing to it," Kirk remarked, "Cora! Comm.!"

Cora reached into the pockets of her coverings and pulled out the comm., both him and McCoy were aware it was against an Empathic's nature to harm or kill others and had known that she would be better set to man the comms. than to actively use a phaser against the typically-harmless natives. She was only ever comfortable using her abilities in a defensive or even offensive way when being attacked by true enemies who did wish them harm and were aware of the harm they wished to inflict. The natives of Nibiru were...not quite that. True, they were hunting them down at the moment, but they weren't evolved enough to be reasoned with or understand what was going on. All they saw was Kirk had stolen from them and they wanted whatever the object was back. They weren't hunting them for the sake of hurting them or anything truly as terrible as other enemies would wish, they were more like...children who wanted a toy back and she wouldn't feel comfortable trying to incapacitate them in the way she normally did, nor would she be able to stand still long enough to do so.

"Cora to Shuttle 1," she called into it, "We are out of range of the volcano. Captain Kirk reports you are clear," she took a breath, "Spock, please be careful," she added…

"Get in there and neutralize the volcano," Kirk shouted over to her, "Let's get out of here!"

~8~

In the shuttle, Sulu glanced back at where Uhura was helping Spock ready his heat-resistant suit for the mission, "We have do this now!" he warned them, "I told the captain, the shuttle wasn't built for this kind of heat."

"Captain," Spock called into the comm., "Did any indigenous life forms see you.

"No, Mr. Spock, they did not," Kirk's voice came back, clearly shouting, clearly running.

"Cora?" Spock amended, knowing she would tell him the truth before Kirk would as it was a custom among her people, much like with his people, to speak the truth and to refrain from lying.

"Yes," Cora answered, "They did not see our faces though."

"Captain the prime directive clearly states there can be _no _interference with the internal development of alien civilizations," Spock reminded them.

It was only upon the reasoning that the indigenous life forms would not see nor be aware that any advanced technologies were being used that he had agreed to be a part of this. It was...a bending of the rules, of the prime directive, a method of interpretation. They were not, per say, interfering with the internal development but more the external development. In keeping the volcano from erupting and putting an end to the natives, they would allow the natives to continue to develop as they normally would, without knowing of the interference with the environment. They would just assume the volcano had smoked and then stopped.

But this...was getting dangerously close to becoming internal interference.

"I know what it says!" Kirk yelled, "Which is why we're running through a jungle, wearing disguises! Now, drop off your super ice-cube, and let's go! Kirk out."

"You're good," Uhura told him, securing his helmet in place.

"If we're going to do this, we got to do it now," Sulu called, piloting the shuttle, "Ash is killing our coils."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go instead?" Uhura looked at Spock, genuinely offering.

It would be dangerous and…she'd seen what had become of Cora when a planet that wasn't even hers was destroyed, she couldn't imagine what would happen to the girl if anything went wrong and Spock was harmed. Actually...she could. She and Cora...talked now, which was a far cry from how she had treated the girl when they'd been in the Academy, with disdain and contempt. Learning about Cora's abilities, seeing them being used, seeing her suffering when Vulcan had been destroyed, it had...opened her eyes to the sort of person Cora was, to how strong the girl really was, unlike she had originally thought. They talked and a sort of friendship had arisen between them. Cora talked a little with her about Spock, at times, when she was confused about something that Kirk or McCoy referenced in relation to him that she didn't think Spock would be able to explain to her either.

She knew about the mating that had taken place between Spock and Cora after Vulcan had been lost. The entire crew knew really. They'd all taken it in stride though, everyone had been able to see something special and unique between the Vulcan and the Empathic from the beginning so it didn't truly surprise them when it had been found out that the two had 'mated' as it was described for Vulcans. But she and Cora spoke a little about it, not much, nothing very personal, but they did talk. She was aware of the telepathic bond Spock had formed with Cora and the empathetic bond she had formed with Spock. She knew that, on Hestia, Cora's planet, the women and men who were paired to be parents would form the same empathetic bonds to each other, and would depend on each other for strength. She wasn't sure how it worked when one's 'mate' was a Vulcan as they could not form the empathetic bond, but...she knew what typically happened to women on Hestia when their men were killed. She didn't want that to happen to Cora.

Spock though, frowned, "That would be highly illogical as I'm already outfitted in heat resistant…"

"I get it," Uhura cut in, shaking her head.

"Guys, we have to go,_ now_," Sulu shouted.

Uhura took a breath and moved to join Sulu at the pilot's seat, Spock getting into position, attaching a rope to his suit and holding the cold-fusion device, or the 'super ice-cube' as Kirk called it, in his other hand.

~8~

"Get down!" Cora cried as they ducked, the natives starting to hurl makeshift spears at them.

"They're trying to kill us," McCoy grumbled.

"I know," Kirk remarked.

"They're trying to kill us Jim!"

"I know!"

"Run faster!" Cora cut in on their argument, it was easier to run when NOT speaking.

Kirk squeezed Cora's hand that he had taken again, knowing that she was trying to keep them calm while running herself, but wasn't quite managing it with the distraction of the escape and the weapons being thrown at them, her focus wasn't as fine tuned as it should be. He knew, he'd spoken to her at length when he'd become captain of the Enterprise, exactly what her people were capable of. He'd wanted to have a sort of log about what she could and couldn't do and about when she would be able to use her abilities and when not. Different things, like her range, the levels of emotions, how long it could last. According to her, some of the more experienced Empathics, such as the ones that had been in the Fleet themselves and been allowed the time and support to practice in their abilities, were able to affect others while distracted, have it last as long as needed, and sometimes even affect others on a different ship if it were close enough. But...those Empathics were more than a century and a half older than her and had been practicing their abilities for much longer than her.

"It'll be ok," he murmured to her, knowing she'd hear him.

He'd promised once that he'd protect her, and he would.

~8~

"If all goes to plan we'll see you in 90 seconds," Uhura called to Spock.

"Do it..." Sulu nodded at her and she pulled a lever, dropping the bottom of the shuttle doors open, allowing Spock to descend, down a rope, into the main volcano of the planet…a volcano that was about to erupt any moment and destroy the natives, halting their evolution.

Sulu looked over, seeing alarms starting to go off, seeing that ash was starting to get lodged into the the engines and coils once more, clogging them, "I can't hold this position. Spock, I've got to pull you back up!"

"Negative," Spock's voice came over the comm., the readings on the scanners saying he was only halfway down, "This is our only chance to save the species. If this volcano erupts, the planet dies," he was quite a moment, "I cannot allow Cora to experience that again."

Sulu and Uhura fell silent at that, both of them had been there when Cora had experienced Vulcan's demise, neither of them _ever_ wanted the girl to go through that again either. Before they could even begin to try and come up with another alternative, there was a grunt as a warning went off…the rope securing Spock had snapped from the heat.

"Spock, are you ok?!" Uhura shouted, seeing the life signs on the monitor fall into the volcano, landing with a thud over the speakers.

~8~

Cora gasped as she stumbled in her run, panting as she felt as though she'd hit the ground yet she hadn't. She glanced back over her shoulder at the volcano, knowing _exactly_ what it had been...

~8~

"Spock!" Uhura shouted, they could hear him grunting, hear him panting as he landed inside the volcano, but with no way to get him out short of landing in there or beaming him aboard the Enterprise, neither was an option at the moment, the shuttle wouldn't be able to resist the heat enough to get to him and the Enterprise wouldn't be able to do anything without the natives seeing it.

"I am, surprisingly, alive," he reported, "Standby."

Uhura turned to Sulu, "We've to get him back. I'll suit-up and go down."

Sulu shook his head and grabbed her hand, stopping her, "We have to abandon the shuttle."

"We can't just leave him Sulu!"

SHE couldn't leave him. She had promised Cora she would watch out for the Vulcan just before she and Kirk and McCoy had been dropped planetside. She had done enough damage and caused enough pain to the woman as a Cadet, she would NOT let the girl come to any harm now, she would not be the cause of it again. She had…gotten to know Cora well as they served on the Enterprise, it had honestly surprised her how well she got on with the girl given the less than favorable relationship they'd had before.

Cora was sweet and genuine and…strong. Stronger than she let on. But they all knew she would not survive something like this. Empathic males were stronger than the females in that they could endure after the loss of their selected 'mate,' to go with the Vulcan term for lack of a better word. Empathics didn't have a specific term for the one they were paired with, they had lost the meaning of it over the centuries, due to the Mas'heirs and their enforced breeding programs. Those lucky enough to find love with their selected partner would only use small names for them, beloved, cherished one, love, small words to indicate how they felt, yet there was no set term for what the other person was.

Regardless, the males were the pillar of strength for the family, they could live past the death of their females, the females however…were not as lucky. They depended on the males for the strength they lost during childbirth. They could live yes, if there were children, if there were small people that held traces of their male. But Cora was not a mother and she WAS bound to Spock, there would be nothing to protect her should Spock die. Well, they weren't sure if she'd die if Spock did, because of the lack of empathetic bond on Spock's side, but Cora WAS tied to him empathetically, they didn't want to risk taking the chance to see if she'd live on afterwards, because they didn't want Spock to die in the first place either.

"We don't have a choice," Sulu told her, "Uhura I'm sorry."

Uhura swallowed hard before grabbing the comm., "Spock, we're going back to the Enterprise. We're getting you out of there."

"Captain," Sulu switched to a different comm., "I'm ditching the shuttle. You gotta make it to the Enterprise on your own."

"Um…" Cora came on, "I am not comfortable repeating Captain Kirk's answer."

Sulu let out a small chuckle at that, before looking at Uhura, "Uhura, are you ready to swim?"

She nodded, "I'm ready."

And with that, she and Sulu flew the shuttle away, heading for the Enterprise, hidden at the bottom of the ocean just beside a cliff.

~8~

The trio continued to run through the red landscape, the natives getting closer and closer, their spears getting nearer and nearer to hitting their targets.

McCoy frowned when he saw the direction Kirk was heading, "Jim...Jim the beach is _that_ way!"

"I know," Kirk shouted back, "We're not going to the beach!"

"Oh no, no!" McCoy shook his head.

"Where are we going?" Cora called, not working it out.

"We're gonna jump into the ocean, aren't we?!" McCoy guessed.

"Yes we are," Kirk agreed.

"I cannot swim!" Cora told them.

The men looked at each other over her head as they ran, Kirk realizing…that probably would have been a good thing to know before he'd stunned their ride.

"Don't worry," Kirk told her, "We'll get you there, just…hold your breath and trust us!"

Cora swallowed hard, seeing the edge of a cliff coming closer, "…ok…"

"I hate this!" McCoy yelled as they reached the edge.

"I know you do!" Kirk replied before he and McCoy each took one of Cora's arms, jumping off the cliff and into the ocean with a scream, the two men quickly starting to swim towards the Enterprise the moment they sunk into the water, they could just barely see it hidden under the water…

~8~

Cora fell to her knees, coughing as the water drained from the airlock that she, Kirk, and McCoy had found themselves in, McCoy kneeling at her side, patting her back, trying to help her breathe through the small amount of water she'd swallowed.

They looked back when they heard the door open to see Scotty standing there, "Do you have _any_ idea how ridiculous is to hide a _starship_ on the bottom of the ocean? We've been doing this since last night. The salt-water is going to erode..."

"Scotty, not now," Kirk cut in.

"A little help?" McCoy turned to the man, struggling to get Cora up, she was shaking. Hestia was a naturally warm planet and the typical attire for her people, to be covered, made it all the warmer. The water, while feeling slightly warm to them, had been chilled to her, her lips were turning as blue as her eyes and her teeth were starting to chatter.

"Aye," Scotty headed in, moving to Cora's other side, "Come on Lassie," he helped her stand.

"W-here's Sp-spock?" Cora got out between her shivering.

Scotty hesitated.

"Scotty?" Kirk looked at him, expecting an answer.

"Still in the volcano, sir," Scotty told them and Kirk took off out of the door.

"Get her to the med-bay now!" Kirk called back over his shoulder to McCoy, maybe if they got Cora back to health before Spock got back…he wouldn't get murdered...today at least.

~8~

Down in the volcano, Spock managed to assemble and prepare the device, a cold-fusion device that would counteract the volcano's eruption, freezing it essentially, cooling it so it wouldn't go off and save the natives below. He paused though, hearing a groaning and looked up to see waves of magma starting to rise around him, the volcano was starting to erupt.

He quickly pushed a button, activating the device.

~8~

"Captain on ze Bridge!" Chekov shouted as Kirk ran in.

"Lieutenant, do we have an open channel on Mr. Spock?" Kirk looked at Uhura.

"The heat is frying his comms. but we still have a contact," Uhura reported.

"Spock!" Kirk called.

"I activated the device, Captain," Spock reported, "When the countdown is complete the reaction should render the volcano inert."

"And that's going to render _him_ inert," McCoy remarked as he entered the Bridge, Cora with a towel wrapped around her beside him, his arm around her to offer extra heat.

"Cora!" Kirk shouted, seeing her, "Bones I told you to get her to the med-bay!"

"She refused to go till Spock was back!" McCoy defended.

"Captain...why does Cora require medical attention?" Spock asked.

Kirk winced, hearing a slight edge to the Vulcan's otherwise flat voice, realizing he should NOT have mentioned that while the comm. connection was still open, "Do we have use of the transporters?" he asked instead.

"Your attempt to return the discussion to the topic of point indicates your own guilt in properly answering the question," Spock remarked.

"Mr. Sulu," Kirk looked at the pilot, trying to do _anything_ to not have to answer Spock.

"Negative, sir," Sulu reported.

"Not with this kind of magnetic field..." Chekov added from beside Sulu, both men working frantically to try and come up with a way to help.

"I need to beam Spock back to the ship," Kirk looked around at them, "Give me one way to do it."

"Maybe if we have a direct line of sight..." Chekov began.

"Hang on wee man," Scotty, who had moved to the viewscreen, turned around, "You are talking about an active _volcano_. Sir, if that thing erupts, I cannae guarantee we can withstand the heat."

"I don't know if we can maintain that kind of altitude," Sulu agreed.

"Our shuttle was concealed by the ash cloud," Spock spoke, "But the Enterprise is too large. If utilized in a rescue effort, it would be revealed to the indigenous species."

"So it is against the rules," Cora swallowed, looking at Kirk pleadingly, "There _must_ be an exception…"

Her people, much like Spock's, were quite...against breaking rules. Though, where Vulcans chose to follow the rules, seeing that, logically they had been put in place for reasons and as a result of mistakes made by others, Empathics had had it beaten into them that they were never to defy an order, and that included rules. She...did agree with Spock that the rules should not be broken, but...if there was an exception, a way to...bend them as Spock had bent them to save the natives, it wouldn't be breaking them at all. There HAD to be something they could do.

"None," Spock cut in, "Such action violates prime directive."

"Shut up, Spock!" McCoy shouted, seeing Cora flinch at that, at how Spock was essentially refusing a rescue, NONE of them wanted to see Cora feel the death of whatever the hell Spock was to her, they'd all noticed she was more…closely tied to him than before due to that Vulcan mating thing, that she could feel _him_ in particular over longer distances, she could probably feel him in the volcano even now, "We're trying to _save_ you, damn it!"

"Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh needs of the few," Spock recited.

"And what happens when that 'few' includes your mate?!" the man snapped, stepping away from Cora.

"Spock we're talking about your _life_!" Kirk agreed, "About _Cora's_ life! You die in there, you kill her here."

"Subtle Jim," McCoy rolled his eyes, seeing Cora tensing at that, at all of them talking like Spock was really and truly going to die instead of speaking on how there was a chance he might be saved.

Spock was silent for a long while before he spoke, his voice flatter than they'd heard it since Cora had joined Starfleet, "The rule cannot be violated in any case..." they frowned, hearing the comm. starting to break up, static playing instead.

"Spock!" Cora called, feeling fear grip her, clutching at the towel around her till her knuckles turned whiter than her hands already were, "Captain Kirk…" she looked at him pleadingly.

"Try to get him back online," Kirk ordered the crew.

"90 seconds to detonation," Chekov reported.

McCoy glanced at Cora, seeing her starting to shake as he put his arm around her once more. They'd been a crew for a while now, a few months really, and they were all like family to each other by now. Cora…she'd become like a little sister to them all…well, except Chekov, Chekov had become a little brother to her as he was younger. After having called the boy by his full name numerous times and, well, wasting time to do it, Chekov had _finally_ managed to convince her to call him just PAC, like the old Earth game Pac-Man, for his initials, convincing her that it was still respectful and still proper because she was encompassing his entire name in doing so...if only they'd all been so luck as to be blessed with a name as long as Chekov's was.

"If Spock were here and I were there," Kirk wondered as McCoy and Cora stepped beside him, "What would he do?"

"He'd let you die," McCoy remarked.

"He would transport you in," Cora countered, "Somehow, he would get you in range, without being seen, and he'd transport you in. Because you are the captain."

They stood there, watching as the life sign for Spock continued to blink...in the middle of the volcano.

"To hell with this," Kirk muttered, "You stay here," he pointed at Cora, "You have the comm.," he told her, before running out of the room, McCoy rushing after him, the man shouting orders as he went.

~8~

Spock stood up in the volcano, the device now fully activated, before closing his eyes and holding out his arms, breathing out as he cleared his mind and buried his emotions…ready for what might come...

~8~

On the planet, the natives stopped, staring in awe as the Enterprise rose out of the sea, flying towards the volcano, needing to get in range…

~8~

Spock opened his eyes only when he started to see an odd light behind his eyelids, staring around him as the volcano's magma began to harden and freeze…the lights of a transport surrounding him.

When he blinked, he found himself standing on the transport pad of the Enterprise, looking around as Kirk and McCoy ran into the room, "Spock!" Kirk called, "You alright?"

Spock just blinked and looked at him, "Captain, you let them see our ship."

McCoy rolled his eyes, "He's fine."

"Bridge to Captain Kirk," Uhura called over the comm..

"Yes, Lieutenant," Kirk responded.

"Cora wishes for confirmation that Commander Spock is onboard, sir."

"Safe and sound."

"Please notify him that, his device has successfully detonated."

"You heard that?" Kirk grinned at him, "Congratulations, Spock. You just saved the world."

"You violated the prime directive," Spock continued, unable to let that go.

"Ah come on Spock," Kirk laughed, shrugging, "They saw us. Big deal."

Before Spock could remind the captain one more time that he had broken the prime directive, hoping that it might sink in if he said it enough times..Cora stumbled into the room, "Spock!" she breathed, smiling at him, dropping the towel and rushing over to him, seeming as though about to hug him…only to stop a foot away from him, "You are hot."

Kirk burst out laughing at that, 'hot' and 'Spock' were not words he'd ever thought he'd hear used in the same sentence.

McCoy rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder, "She meant his heat-resistant suit," he reminded the man, "Come on," he nudged Kirk again and the two of them made their way over to Spock, pulling on heat-resistant gloves to start getting Spock out of his own suit.

Spock though, his gaze remained on Cora, trained on her lips which were still partially blue, "Cora...what has happened?" his eyes shifted from her lips to her damp hair and her wet outfit.

"The plan needed...amendments," Cora supplied.

Spock frowned until McCoy elaborated, "We jumped off a cliff into the ocean and swam to the Enterprise."

Spock turned to them, making them jerk back, his suit halfway off, "Cora cannot swim."

"Am I the ONLY one who didn't know that?" Kirk grumbled, just reaching out to continue to help Spock out, "She was fine Spock."

"Clearly she is NOT 'fine' as you put it, Captain," Spock's eyes narrowed at him as he stepped back, out of reach.

"Look, she's alive, you're alive, the Nibiruans are alive, it's been a good day."

McCoy sighed, seeing Spock was not amused by Kirk's attempt to play off the situation. He knew Kirk was actually feeling guilty about it, and it had nothing to do with Cora asking why the Captain felt guilty as they headed to the Bridge, but because he knew Kirk, he knew how he was. He took his role as captain surprisingly seriously...well, not very seriously, but more seriously than he did in the Kobayashi Maru simulation the last time...which wasn't actually saying all that much. But he DID feel bad about doing that to Cora, and that she had reacted so to it, he hadn't thought about the differences in climate, how the water would feel colder to her than them.

Whenever Kirk felt really guilty, he tried to play it off, tried to make it seem less serious for his own peace of mind as well, "I tried to get her to the med-bay to check on her," McCoy added, "But she refused until you were back onboard."

Spock nodded, looking at Cora intently, noting how she crossed her arms and appeared a bit cold and...the thought of McCoy seeing her in the med-bay, in being the one to help her, to examine her and touch her...unsettled him. HE wanted to be the one to care for her and warm her and ensure she was alright and just...be with her. He didn't want McCoy or Kirk to be near her right now, which was odd as they had kept her safe and ensured that she made it back to the Enterprise. He was certain it was his near death in the volcano that was bringing these thoughts to the surface, but...right then...he just...wanted to be with Cora, alone.

"She does not require your services, doctor," he told McCoy, before glancing at him, "_I_ will take care of my mate," he turned to Cora, gesturing her out of the room with a light hand to the small of her back.

Kirk grinned as he watched them go before nudging McCoy, "When he says 'take care of his mate,' you don't think he means..._take care of her_, do you?" he couldn't even wait for an answer before he started chuckling.

McCoy just rolled his eyes.

Their captain was a 12 year old.

A/N: Lol, oh Kirk, you naughty-minded boy :) I wanted to sort of take a small look into the minds of the other crew members in this chapter, what they know and think of Cora and Spock, before we really get into Spock and Cora ;) I'm very excited for the next chapter, the 'taking care of her' and also a discussion about the volcano :)

I'm going to do something a little different for this story. Originally it was going to be an original chapter, then one based on the movie, and alternate. But as I was editing, it didn't flow as well and seemed odd to end at certain points. So what I'm going to do is make it like one big long continuous movie but broken up in 12 chapters. So we'll get original scenes mixed with movie portions, acting like bridges between scenes and also extending other scenes :)

I'm glad you're all liking it so far and are excited for Khan and Pon Farr, I am too ^-^

Some notes on reviews...

Thanks! I've seen the episode of Spock in Pon Farr yup :) That was one of the few I managed to find time to watch. This one will be a bit different, mostly because here Spock's completely accepted his human half and it'll be a bit more intense than in the show because his mate isn't on Vulcan but right there ;) And his feelings and relationship with her and her species might cause him some troubles ;)

I don't like lemons or limes either, definitely not me :) I sort of believe that things like that should be private between characters and not broadcast, but left up to imagination :) Lol, I think Cora and Angel would get along nicely too :)

I'm very excited for the Kirk/OC as well :) Especially as I was writing this because she's so different to Cora :)

It's only been a few months between the last movie and this one, I'd say, at most, about 6 months :)


	3. Restless

Restless

Spock sat on the edge of his bed, a bed he had come to share with Cora despite the intimacy it brought up between them. They had done nothing more than truly sleep in the bed at the same time, often he would wake with Cora curled beside him or with his arms around her, and it was...oddly nice for his human half, it welcomed the closeness of waking in such a manner. His Vulcan half had taken longer to get used to that fact but, in remembering she was his mate, had begun to grow familiar with the sensation of waking up beside her. It was only logical that she stay with him after they had begun the mating, he did not want her sharing a room with anyone, despite her roommate being a girl as well, he did not want her in a room with anyone but him, he wanted her beside him where he could...protect her.

He had brought her back to their room, making true to his promise to McCoy to take care of his mate. He'd held her for a short time, knowing it would warm her quicker. When she had stopped shaking he had suggested she take a warm shower to completely warm her core temperature up to a normal standard as he waited. He had remarked that he...wished to speak with her, afterwards. While he knew many women, humans mostly, could and would take his words in a negative way, as though he were going to sever the ties that bound them together, Cora had taken what he said to be what he said, that there was something he wished to discuss with her. They talked, a lot, they had over the course of her time at the Academy, more so on the ship, but she could tell that what he had to say was serious, yet he wished for her to be well first, before he began.

So he had wandered through the room as she went to do as suggested, connecting to the Starfleet databases and filing his report as First Commander for the logs as he was sure Kirk was doing as well as captain. He kept it simple and brief, detailing what had happened on Nibiru. It was according to regulations that, should a potential breach of the prime directive be found, that the incident be reported. And a starship rising from the ocean before a people as unevolved as the Nibiruans was one such breach. It was his responsibility as well, it was his fault it had happened, and it was his duty to make sure the report and the rules were followed in this manner at least.

He looked up when he heard the door to the small bathroom open, being First Commander had its privileges, such as a private bath. Her hair was damp and down and she was fully clothed, well, clothed in her night clothes at least. Empathics were…a modest people, both in personality and sense of self and also in dress and presentation to others. They didn't believe in showing off their bodies to anyone but their paired partner, but she knew that they weren't ready for that sort of relationship yet. She was wearing a baggy though long sleeved and length shirt that went to her mid thighs, with equally as flowing pants, quite the opposite of her uniform, only her hands head and dainty feet visible to him.

He…knew there was another reason for her and her people covering themselves so much, despite the natural warmth of her planet which would make wearing less fabric logical. Well, originally, in the few pieces of artwork that survived from her planet's past, the Empathics used to follow a similar style of dress as the Ancients of Earth, such as the Romans or the Greeks, yet their homes and cities were built more in a medieval sense but with vast expanses of land and fields of flowers and trees…once. Long ago. The Mas'heirs had destroyed most of that.

The reason though, the reason the Empathics covered themselves more was…the scarring. He knew, he had had discussions with McCoy about it as he was now Cora's mate and entitled to know her medical issues, that she had terrible scarring on her back and minor scarring on the back of her arms and legs from the Mas'heirs treatment. He had spent so long building up her confidence in herself, in having her not see herself as a slave or inferior or lesser than another person that…he'd inadvertently made her rather ashamed and embarrassed by the scars she bore. To her it was a symbol of her slavery, a symbol of the past she couldn't escape from, a reminder of how weak she had been.

To him they were symbols of her strength, her resilience, her endurance, to bear them, to know the pain that caused them, and to push through it. But that didn't mean that if he ever encountered one of the Mas'heirs, especially the one that had owned her, that he wouldn't kill them for harming her.

He stiffened at that, at that thought, at that…anger that had burst through him a moment ago. The thought of killing…it was…not something a Vulcan took lightly. It was not something they reacted with, anger and the desire to harm. They controlled themselves and their anger but…just then…he truly had felt the need and the want to murder the Mas'heir that had done that to Cora strike him.

And that was…alarming, he had never had an emotion as powerful as that hit him with such little warning before.

"You wished to speak with me?" she asked, drawing his attention back to her.

He blinked, having gotten lost in thought, "Yes," he nodded, gesturing beside him. He watched as she smiled at that, moving to sit beside him.

She curled her left leg onto the bed, turning to face him, her hands in her lap as he remained sitting, staring straight ahead, his back straight. She frowned, tiling her head as he remained quiet, "For wishing to speak, you are oddly silent."

"Yes I…" he paused, "I am…trying to place the words."

She smiled, "You do not have to say anything Spock," she tried to reassure him, reaching out to place a hand on his as they rested on his knees.

She was a bit startled when he turned his hand over and took her hand in his, watching him closely as he laced their fingers together as he simply…held her hand.

"I believe I do," he began, "I…frightened you. While I was in the volcano."

"Yes," she nodded.

"That was not my intention," he continued, not looking at her but continuing to hold her hand in his as she watched the side of his face, the emotions playing across it.

"I know it was not."

"And…I am sure you feel…anger, towards me, for refusing rescue," he added, starting to struggle with the words now, with trying to put his emotions into the spoken word.

"Not exactly…"

"But you must understand," he spoke, as though not hearing her, "It was against the prime directive and the mission, the Fleet's mission in space is more important than one life," he closed his eyes at that, "Though it is not more important than yours…I…"

"Spock," Cora stepped off the bed, moving to kneel before him, seeing him refusing to look at her.

She knew that, despite being an Empathic, there were times, few though they were, where Spock felt the need to vocalize his emotions. Often it was when he felt he had done something that offended or hurt her and he wanted to not just have her sense his sorrow and regret but know he TRULY felt that way, because he said it out loud. He knew he did not speak of his emotions much, and that when he did it made it more meaningful, especially to Cora. The fact that he could bring himself to even allow his emotions to be felt by her was more than enough for her, but Spock was always trying to be as considerate to her as she was to him in understanding his hesitancy with touch.

She squeezed his hand, but he didn't look at her. She let out a small laugh before reaching up, gently placing her free hand on the side of his face, stroking his cheek a moment before guiding his head down to look at her, "I believe the request for me to look at you goes both ways," she reminded him, feeling her heart skip a beat when she saw his lip quirk in the side.

"Logically, yes," he nodded, though…he didn't understand why he was so…determined not to look at her. She was…enchanting, to observe, interesting to watch the emotions play out across her face for everyone to see. And now…the way she was gazing at him, so softly and fondly…it was not how he expected her to be looking at him after what he had done.

Cora smiled, feeling his confusion, "I DID say you did not have to speak," she reminded him, her thumb gently tracing his cheek, "Spock…" she shook her head, "I could feel you," she whispered, "The moment you fell into the volcano, I…felt it," and she had, she had felt as though she'd fallen and taken a tumble yet she had still been running at the time, "Every moment, even when I was back on the Enterprise, I DID feel you still. It appears my bond with you is growing stronger every day," she had to smile softly at that, it was…nice to know that.

Spock lifted his hand to hers on his face, curling his fingers around it, lowering it but not letting go as he stared at her, feeling almost…shocked and alarmed at that knowledge, "You…did?"

She nodded, "I did," she took a breath, "I felt everything you did Spock, every single emotion, even…the ones you tried to hide in the end."

Spock looked down at that, he…hadn't been aware that Cora's range had increased regarding him, to the point where she had been able to feel him in the volcano despite being on the starship, "Many apologies…" he murmured, mimicking her typical form of apology.

She moved higher onto her knees, inching closer to him, "You have no need to apologize," she told him, "Or to say anything you do not wish to say," she squeezed his hands, "I already know."

She did too. She had felt it, every emotion while he'd been in there. His determination to save the planet and the natives, his…fear at realizing there was no way to escape the volcano even if it lasted for only a moment before he pushed it away. She had felt his…acceptance, had felt his guilt at the fact that to remain there would mean she might die as well. They truly did not know what would happen to her if Spock died, the empathetic bond she had with him couldn't be reciprocated the way an Empathic male could, they didn't know if it was that reciprocation and the fact that such a bond went both ways that made it dangerous for Empathic females to lose their med before they had children to sustain them. They didn't want to know if his death would also mean her death. Because they didn't want him to die either.

But she had felt it, the…hope. His hope that she would live on, that she would continue to be with the Fleet, to go on and live and bring peace to the Universe, that the crew would protect her and care for her with him gone. She had even felt his…reluctant acceptance that, if he should die, then, perhaps, if she did as well, they would still be together.

She had noticed, recently, in the last few days he had been a bit more…possessive of her. He didn't like leaving her alone, or with other men, his attention during tasks tended to veer towards her at times and remain there longer than normal. She wasn't sure what it was because he didn't feel…different…to her. He had always found her interesting, had always wanted to protect her from others, though she doubted the crew would hurt her. It was normal for him, at least to her, but just…taking a bit longer.

She felt his guilt after he had thought that, that they would be together even if he died, because he DIDN'T want her to die. He had hoped that, in cutting off his emotions, in accepting what was happening and clearing his mind and heart…that it would help her not feel him die, that it would help dim their connection so that she wouldn't hurt so badly when it happened.

For one so clever, Spock could be remarkably dim about things like that.

His eyes shot up to hers, "Did you just call me…stupid?" he asked her, blinking.

She let out a bit of a laugh, realizing that, by holding his hand she was inadvertently making his own telepathic bond to her stronger, he'd heard her thoughts apparently, "I believe the word was dim."

"Cora."

She squeezed his hands, "You are, and will always be, the most brilliant man I have ever met," she told him, "But while your logic is unparalleled and I shall always concede to it," she added, "Your heart…" she lifted a hand, trying to let go of his hand but he wouldn't let go of hers first, so she simply placed her hand on his abdomen, where a human's liver would have been, feeling his heart beating as his hand squeezed hers, still holding it, "Should listen to me, I think."

He nodded, understanding her words, that he should just trust his emotions around her, trust that she would pick up on them and not force him to speak them. It was how their relationship worked after all, it was why, he thought, his Vulcan side had come to appreciate her and her abilities, she…understood him, all of him.

"I understand why you did it," she whispered, looking into his eyes, feeling his thumb start to stroke over the back of her hand absently as it rested on his heart, "I am not angry with you. To be quite honest…I am…rather more relieved that you are still here."

And she was. It…didn't matter what had happened before or what could have happened, because it DIDN'T happen. Spock was there, before her, alive and well, and he was ok. And that was all that mattered. She understood why he did it, he'd gone into the volcano in the first place for her, to try and keep the destruction of the planet and the people from harming her. He had refused to give up because failing to set off that device would mean failing her. And, in the end, his refusal for help was…to keep his own hopes down from being rescued. He didn't want to vainly hope, to allow himself to feel anything, because if it didn't work then he would be open to the pain and fear of it all and that was NOT what he wanted her to feel as his last moments.

She had felt it, just before the transporter had reached him, how he had calmed and relaxed and she knew the exact feeling it was…it was how he felt around her.

His last thoughts had been of her.

The entire mission, from the start to the end, had been about her, in his mind. How could she fault him for that? She understood what the crew didn't, she understood what he was doing and why and what he felt during it. That was a private thing, that was not something she could share with them. It was something that had to be dealt with between her and Spock.

"I would appreciate it though," she continued, "If you…not fall into a volcano again."

He felt himself…smile, truly smile this time and not just quirk his lips, "I shall try if you do not jump into an ocean again."

She laughed, knowing that when he'd heard her need for medical attention he'd been frightened, felt his anger at Kirk when he'd found out they'd jumped into the ocean when she couldn't swim. For as scared as she had been while he'd been in the volcano, he had been as alarmed and concerned for her after learning about her own escapades, seeing her chilled and her lips turning blue and shaking and…unable to have stopped it.

It was…odd, how differently their fears had related to each other, her afraid of him in a blistering hot volcano, and him afraid for her swimming in the rather frigidly cold (in her opinion) waters.

She opened her mouth to agree…when a yawn overtook her. Spock merely stood, his hand still in hers, and turned to the bed, pulling down the cover and sliding in, allowing her to slide in beside him. Cora blushed, as she always did whenever they settled for bed, despite having done so every night for quite some time. She just…never thought this would happen, with Spock or anyone, or that she could share a bed and not be expected to start breeding. It was…nice, comforting, and it made her feel so warm and secure, being in his arms, she…she didn't have nightmares anymore.

She had had them so much at the Academy, especially with the Cadets' treatment of her at times, it would remind her of the smaller things the Mas'heirs would do to her and her people, and she would have a nightmare of it. Wake up screaming, much to the annoyance of her roommate, and just…leave, just wander the halls of the Academy, trying to get her mind off it. She had been…afraid, that she would have nightmares while with Spock, that she would disturb his sleep but…she hadn't. She hadn't had a single one yet. And that was a blessing.

She smiled though as she turned on her side, hesitantly resting her head on Spock's shoulder. She was never…quite sure how comfortable he would be with her snuggling up to him. It was such a…non-Vulcan thing to do, snuggle, but…as she felt his one arm wind around her, his elbow bending so his hand was on her hair, gently running his fingers through it…it wasn't that hard to remember he was half human too as she drifted off to sleep.

~8~

Spock laid on his back, staring at the ceiling of his room, of his and Cora's room, just…blinking. He had tried to fall asleep, but hadn't been able to manage it as easily as Cora had. He didn't know what it was, it was like…his mind just could not slow down. He felt like he needed to get up and do something, go somewhere, expend some energy…energy he was sure he shouldn't have had given all he'd endured only hours ago. A glance at the time told him it had actually been about 8 hours ago, an entire night it would appear, not that it was easily distinguishable with the lack of sun out the windows. But the ship ran on a set time, in shifts, day shifts and night shifts to try and keep some sense of time with the Academy.

He knew, after 8 hours of lying there that he should have been able to fall asleep by now. Cora was beside him, she was safe, his mind should have been at peace. He should have been exhausted, even by the standards of his people, but he felt oddly…energetic. It was like there were…stores of energy, of electricity, running through him at the moment. It was making his mind race, his body shift, his heart beat quickly…and made sleep impossible.

He felt…restless.

And…to be quite honest…having Cora beside him was making him even more so. Slowly, throughout the course of the 'night,' he had found himself…thinking about her, about how close she was to him, curled up beside him. She was so close he could feel her warmth seeping into him, tingles spreading through his body and not stopping. He knew it wasn't her using her abilities in her sleep, she had to be awake and aware in order to utilize them. He had gotten tingles off her before, he…always did, whenever she touched him, wherever she touched him, he always felt warm afterwards and during. He could feel her heart beating beside him, feel her breath on his neck, chilling him, his arm moving with the rise and fall of her shoulders. She was a small girl, so her laying on him in such a way wasn't uncomfortable…

And THAT was what was surprising him and making his mind race.

He DIDN'T feel uncomfortable, in fact, he felt quite the opposite. What's more…his Vulcan half wasn't unsettled. Usually he would fall asleep soon after Cora, drifting off and waking up, not aware of how much time had passed with her beside him, his Vulcan half not having time to make him aware that he was touching her longer than he did while he was awake. But this? This time he had been awake the entire time, this time his Vulcan half should have been urging him to shift just a bit away, to not go for so many hours with her so near and touching him in such a way.

What startled him…was that his Vulcan half was urging him to pull her even closer.

That was…alarming to realize, to realize that the side of him that tended to shy away from touch was actually encouraging him to touch Cora, to let himself be touched, to let himself lie there with her. His human half always wanted to touch Cora, to have some sort of physical connection to her, the half of him his mother often brought out in him with her small gestures and touches and hugs, it had made him more open to the notion of touch…but not like this. For his Vulcan half to start feeling the same…

It was…odd, it didn't make sense to him. Just a week ago his Vulcan half was the same as ever, slowly accepting Cora as his mate, slowly getting used to her touching him and him touching her. And now…for it to…want…her to be so close. It was a worrying concept yet…

He couldn't bring himself to truly care.

It was like, the longer he laid there beside her, the more comfortable he was with being so close, the more he wanted to continue to lie there, with her in his arms. The longer he laid there, his gaze slowly drifting from the ceiling to her, watching her sleep peacefully beside him, seeing the soft smile on her face, knowing he was making her happy with just his mere presence…the more he felt content. He could feel her warmth, he could smell her scent, like a soft floral fragrance with the minutest hint of what he thought could be termed cinnamon, and he could feel his own heart starting to pick up the longer he gazed at her.

Before he had even realized he'd done it, his free hand had drifted over, to her cheek, gently starting to stroke it, his head leaning towards her as he saw her starting to blink awake slowly. He leaned in more, his lips just barely brushing against hers…

When the doors to their room slid open with a jolt, making them jerk away and sit up quickly…

Only to see Kirk standing in the doorway, one hand over his eyes, "I'm not looking!" he shouted, "But you two need to STOP what you're doing, ok?" they were silent, staring at him, "Ok," he nodded, before dropping his fingers so he could peek at them through the crack. He grinned widely, dropping his hand when he saw them not doing anything like _that_, "You two need to get ready, now," he told them.

"Has something happened Captain Kirk?" Cora frowned, speaking before Spock…whose eyes seemed to have narrowed at Kirk, could comment on the captain's less than polite entrance into their _private_ quarters.

Kirk beamed, "We've been called to Starfleet Headquarters."

"And this is a...good thing?" Cora looked between him and Spock, not quite sure if it was. In her experience, the only time one was called to face an authority it was due to something bad happening. Such as Kirk's trial for tampering with the Kobayashi Maru simulation or when the former Captain Pike had been called to speak with Nero. There were times...with the Mas'heirs as well, they only ever called in an Empathic alone to brief them on a task the would need completed or to berate and punish them for the failure of a task. Being called to anywhere never seemed to work out well for those being called.

But Kirk seemed to disagree, "A VERY good thing," he laughed, oh he had a guess why they were being called.

Pike had been the one to contact him, telling him that he, Spock, and Cora were to report to his office in Headquarters. the last time he'd dealt with Pike he'd been given the Enterprise. He could only imagine what he'd be given next, maybe they'd be allowed to participate in the 5-year expedition that he'd applied the Enterprise for!

"Forgive me Captain," Spock spoke, seeming to have gotten control of his narrowed gaze, returning his expression to its normal impassive one, "You said 'we' have been called? Cora as well?"

Kirk nodded, "I need both of you to suit up, we're to meet Pike in his office in 2 hours."

And with that, he pointed at them, before turning to walk out, the door sliding shut behind him. Cora couldn't help but frown at that...if SHE was being called, she feared it would not be for as good a reason as Kirk seemed to think it was. She bit her lip...something Spock immediately noticed.

"What is it?" he asked her, his gaze on her lips and...despite his best efforts...he couldn't seem to remove them from them.

Cora didn't seem to notice as she kept her gaze on the door, "I do not believe this is a 'very good thing,'" she remarked, turning her head to him, his eyes shooting to hers at the motion, seeing the worry in them.

"Nor do I," he agreed.

And not just because of the meeting they were expected to attend but...his actions just now. His glare at Kirk, his attempt to kiss her before, touching her face without meaning to, and right before...how he had just...stared at her lips. This was...not him.

This was not him at all.

And he couldn't help but feel that...something was wrong, something was _very_ wrong.

A/N: I'm very excited for when Spock realizes exactly what's wrong with him ;) But I hope you enjoyed the little moment between them with the volcano and everything. I can say that just because THEY resolved what happened, doesn't mean the crew has ;) I can also say that the Pon Farr might build up slowly but there will be very key events that will trigger an...accelleration of it ;) We'll be seeing a Spock that's struggling quite a bit with quite a lot ;)

Some notes on reviews...

We'll see a bit of Scotty to come ;) I think his little friend is Keenser :)

Thanks! Lol, they never specify things like that lol :) I've edited a little reference to the time in the next chapter :)

Yup a Kirk/OC ;) There's a cover of it up on my tumblr on my 'Upcoming Stories' page if you're interested :) My tumblr is linked on my profile :)

I'm glad you're enjoying the story :) I think Cora's more relieved that he's ok, she could feel him in the volcano and, I think, sensing how much of his thoughts and actions were for her made her more happy he was ok and made her understand (unlike Uhura) the reasons he did what he did were because he cared :_

I probably won't do 2 chapters in a day for movie-stories, because they're so short, only about 10-12 chapters per story. Technically I am doing 2 chapters a day though, one for this story and one for my Doctor Who story The Nightmare Begins ;) That's all I can really manage at the moment with school and work, 2 chapters total :)

I...LOVED writing Cora and Khan exactly because of her abilities ^-^ I'm so sad it'll take us a few more chapters to get to him though :( I'm still planning the OUAT story yup, it'll probably be up some time after my Merlin and 4th Doctor Who series though :) I'm happy you're liking the story so far :)


	4. Meeting Pike

A/N: I don't usually do A/Ns at the start, sorry, just wanted to apologize if this chapter isn't up to par, I know it's a bit short too :( I was made aware that one of my Doctor Who stories had been plagiarized...which makes for 9 times I've been plagiarized this year :( I couldn't make myself look at any of my stories/chapters, or this one till about 3 am. And I wake up at 6 for work...so just wanted to say sorry :(

~8~

Meeting Pike

"Cora!" a voice called as Cora walked through the halls with Spock, heading for the hanger, preparing to take a shuttle down to Starfleet Headquarters. There transports were unable to send them to the Headquarter as it was secure location and didn't allow such easy access. Shuttles had to be utilized instead.

She looked back, smiling, "Nyota Uhura," she greeted.

"Cora you can really just call me Uhura," Uhura gave her a smile. They were all trying to get Cora to be less...proper with their names. Sadly the only one who was managing it was Chekov, and only because by calling him 'PAC' she was still calling him by his whole name. She hadn't quite had as much success in getting her to call her 'NU' though...not that she really wanted to be called Nu instead of her name.

"Did you require something?" Cora blinked, looking at her, feeling a...wish for something from the woman, but, oddly enough, one targeted at her instead of Spock, which was new. Actually...she could feel quite a bit of irritation directed at the Vulcan from the human.

"Yes," Uhura nodded, glancing at Spock who was standing rigidly beside Cora, silent.

She and Spock...didn't have the best relationship, if a professional courtesy could be called a relationship. She was...actually getting over Spock more and more every day, the more time she spent with Cora, getting to know the girl, and the more time she spent around Spock and seeing him interact in a non-academic setting, made her realize...she and Spock really weren't and wouldn't have been compatible. It didn't seem like Vulcans forgot anything, he remembered how she had treated Cora when the girl had first arrived in the Academy and for most of her time as a Cadet.

She was ashamed of it, and she was trying to be better, trying to make up for it in being a good friend now. Spock though seemed to think it was some sort of ruse. She knew he was justified in thinking it, she hadn't done much by means of proving herself to him over the years. She understood he trusted her as much as he had to for missions but that he did not trust her at all with Cora. But she was really trying to show him that...she really had started to care for the girl as a friend.

"Um, can I speak with you," Uhura glanced at Spock again, "Alone?"

Cora tilted her head at that before glancing at Spock, "I shall be with Kirk in the shuttle," he offered her, giving her a small nod, before he turned to head off.

Though...to be honest it was...hard to do that, to...walk away. He had hesitated just then, a moment longer than normal, a moment longer than he should have. But he assumed that it was just his natural distrust of Uhura, of not wanting her to be near Cora after all she had put the girl through. He knew Cora seemed to trust Uhura a bit more than before, likely sensing a shift in the woman's emotions that was leading her to think Uhura had changed. But he just...couldn't bring himself to believe it. He did not have Cora's abilities, nor did he want to connect to Uhura in such a manner as reading her mind to see her true intentions.

For now he had to trust Cora and that she would be alright. And he knew she would talk with him later about what Uhura might say. He would just have to be patient till then...a concept he was finding strangely difficult to think on at the moment or accept. He shook his head, stepping into the shuttle, leaving the women alone.

"What is the matter?" Cora looked back at Uhura.

"I just...wanted to ask if you were ok," Uhura began.

"I am well," Cora nodded.

"I meant about..." she sighed, "About what happened with Commander Spock and the volcano. I know it had to be...hard, to stand there and have him refuse rescue. It was hard for me and the Captain and...I just, I wanted to make sure that you were ok."

"Spock is back," Cora shrugged, speaking simply, "So I am fine."

"Cora," Uhura shook her head, "I don't mean right now, I mean...how are you? How are you doing with what happened? Coming so close must have scared you."

"I...was alarmed," she agreed, "But..."

"I just can't believe Spock would do that!" Uhura cut in, feeling herself getting upset for the woman. Cora was...really nice, she actually was a great person and she was truly regretting not having gotten to know her in the Academy. And to imagine Spock doing what he did...it made her angry.

In fact, half the crew were furious with him for his complete lack of care and consideration for Cora. She was a...sweetheart, to quote Scotty, and she didn't deserve someone like Spock ignoring how she felt and not caring at all that he was about to die and possibly condemn her to die as well.

"I understand he follows the rules, but it wasn't just HIS life on the line, it was YOURs," Uhura continued as Cora blinked at her, feeling that...this was something Uhura had been keeping in the last few hours and needed to get out, "I just don't understand how someone could be so selfish and...uncaring."

"I...do not believe he was either," Cora countered, "It is...complicated."

Uhura winced, "I'm sorry Cor," she said, slipping in a nickname Kirk had given her that a few of them had picked up, "I didn't mean to go off like that. What he did...it just worried us. Because you're important to us and we don't want to see you hurt."

Cora smiled, "Spock would never hurt me."

"He almost did," Uhura reminded her quietly. She glanced over seeing the shuttle preparing, "Look, you need to go but, if you need to talk about it, just...let me know, ok?"

"Of course," Cora nodded, "Many thanks," she smiled at Uhura, before turning to head into the shuttle, Uhura watching her go, shaking her head, still very upset about what Spock had done, how selfish he'd been. She knew if he wasn't mated to Cora, Kirk probably would have killed him for what he'd done.

Cora smiled as she entered the shuttle to see that there was one spot open between Kirk and Spock and moved to take it...only for Spock to stand as she reached the seat, "Sit here," he offered her his spot by the window, "I...will be more enjoyable," he offered a bit...weakly, almost unsure.

And he was unsure, of why he'd done that. he hadn't even been thinking of doing i, but...he'd seen her about to sit down, between him and Kirk...between him and another man a part of him told him...and he'd wanted to...change it. If she sat by the window then he would be in the middle and Cora would be beside him, and only him.

He frowned at that reasoning, not sure why it should matter that she only sit beside him but thought, logically, perhaps it was because he was still trying to ensure she was really alright after the volcano incident, offering her his presence and only his to reassure her he was still there. Not that she seemed to be having an issue with that, she was very aware of him at all times, sometimes more aware of him than he was of himself.

But Cora just smiled at him and took the offered seat and, as he sat, he felt much more comfortable with the seating arrangements.

~8~

Cora hurried along after Spock as the two of them walked with Kirk through San Francisco, having been called to Starfleet Headquarters. Kirk was exuberant as ever, while the aliens were a bit more restrained, Cora especially. She had a bad feeling about this, the only time an Empathic was called to headquarters, with her and one other being the only two in the Fleet after the eldest passed on some months ago, was to act as a 'lie detector' as McCoy loved to call her.

And knowing Kirk and his luck, this was going to be more of an investigation and interrogation than a commendation as he seemed to think it would be. It was all he had talked about on the shuttle, what the reason could be for the call down to HQ and what he was 'sure' it would be.

"I'm telling you both," Kirk grinned, "THIS why he called, I can feel it."

"I am aware James T. Kirk," Cora remarked, having taken to calling him by his full name when not on the ship or taking part in a mission. He was always insistent she call him just 'Jim' and not 'captain' ALL the time. She had settled for calling him James T. Kirk when he didn't appear to be acting in a captain capacity.

He rolled his eyes, "Come on Cor," he reached out and took her hand, spinning her around, as though he were trying to dance with her yet she wasn't sure the steps, "I've told you hundreds of times not to call me all that, Kirk is fine, or Captain. Please," he looked at her, "Don't make me order you to."

Cora bit her lip, it was hard to know what to call the members of the crew, at any time Kirk might be captain then Spock then someone else, for all she knew SHE might have been captain at some point with how often they shifted that role around. In order to keep from mistaking who was in charge, she just called them their full names, except for Kirk, who was captain most of the time…and Chekov, as she had taken to calling him PAC, as he'd requested humbly of her…in her own language, which had surprised and touched her that he'd gone to Spock for help with that. She got the impression and sensation that Chekov was rather intimidated by Spock, which she didn't understand, but he had been very considerate in requesting it of her in her language so she had honored his request. Oddly enough, he was the only one who had thought to do that.

"Yes, Captain Kirk," Cora nodded.

Kirk sighed, well that was an improvement on his full name at least, he knew the crew sometimes got annoyed with her calling him 'Captain' all the time, but he actually got annoyed with his full name all the time too, "Was that so hard?" he laughed, moving his hand to her side, ready to tickle her…

When Spock reached out and grabbed his wrist, tightly, "Please release your hold on my mate, Captain," Spock cut in, his grip on Kirk seeming to tighten without Spock's apparent knowledge.

"You let go of my arm, I let go of your mate," Kirk countered, glancing at his hand…it was starting to turn white, Spock really had a death grip on it didn't he?

Spock nodded and released him, reaching out a hand that Kirk watched carefully to Cora, a _gentle_ hand, far gentler than he'd been with _him_, to tug her back to his side.

"Jeez Spock, lighten up," Kirk shook out his hand, rubbing his wrist, "No need to alpha male here."

Spock blinked, "I do not understand that reference."

Kirk rolled his eyes, "Just...lighten your grip next time," he remarked, heading off past them once more.

Cora frowned and looked at Spock, seeing him hesitate to follow Kirk, instead, the Vulcan was staring at his hand, the hand he'd grabbed Kirk with, "Is something wrong Spock?" she asked.

"No…" he answered slowly, turning his hand over before his eyes, before he looked at her, "Nothing is the matter."

She looked at him once more before nodding and hurrying after Kick, not noticing that he had said nothing was 'the matter' but not that nothing was 'wrong.' That just then…was…odd. He didn't usually touch others, ever, anyone but Cora really he refrained from touching out of a natural Vulcan desire to not engage in that. Cora, being his mate, was different, his familiarity with her allowed him more of a comfort than a distaste in touching when she was there.

But just then…he'd grabbed Kirk. Not only was the man his captain but…a…friend…and he'd grabbed him. He hadn't even realized he had till Kirk had negotiated a trade off, his arm for Cora. He honestly and truly _hadn't_ realized he'd grabbed the man till then. Which was alarming to think of, that he could act or react and have no knowledge that he'd done so. And the manner of it…it was aggressive. Once realizing he'd grabbed the man, he'd…realized how tightly he was holding Kirk's wrist, and he'd tightened it, _knowingly_.

It was…as though he'd lost control of himself for a moment, the man was grabbing his mate and touching his mate and pulling her away from him and he'd just…reacted. He'd wanted his mate back and he'd wanted the other man, the other threat, away from her. He paused, considering his thoughts, the other_ threat_? James Kirk was not a threat to him, certainly not one to Cora. He had entrusted the man to protect her and he had with his life, on numerous occasions.

And yet he'd sensed and seen Kirk as a threat just then. But not a dangerous one more like…like other Vulcan males, like…a potential mate for her that might take her away from him. Which made no sense, he and Cora were, for all intents and purposes, bound together, mated. They lacked only the last physical step but they were essentially mated, and no other man could take her from him. Literally.

Cora shared an empathetic bond with him, she would not be able to form one as deeply with another because of it. In her culture, she was bound to him as whatever her people would call their version of a mate. For him, he had forged a telepathic bond to her, more like a vague sense of her thoughts as she was naturally not telepathic in nature unlike his people. They were bound together…and there were no other Vulcan males who would challenge him for Cora, for an Empathic mate…

So why had he seen _Kirk_ as one such man?

It was true, Kirk seemed to share a...closeness...with Cora that came from repeatedly looking out for each other and protecting each other on missions, but he was well aware that Kirk favored Uhura and saw Cora as merely a…sibling of sorts. There was no outward indication that Kirk would attempt to pull Cora from him in a different way than teasing her. But he hadn't seen that, all he'd seen was a man holding his mate and touching his mate and he'd…lost control of himself for a moment.

But it was just a moment, that was all, just that.

He had control of himself once more, he was sure of it.

Yes.

He _had_ to have control of himself otherwise…he would be in a great amount of trouble as the loss of control in a Vulcan was a sign of only one thing. And that was _not_ something he could afford to have happen to him right at that moment.

"I do not believe you are correct," Cora was saying as he caught up to her and Kirk, "It is highly unlikely that we were selected for the new program."

Kirk glanced at her, "Knew it," he muttered to himself, hearing her sound so much like Spock. He'd once remarked about that, about the day the Vulcan started rubbing off on her, it seemed it had happened, "Why else would Pike want to see us? Forget about seniority, they gave us the newest ship in the Fleet. Who else are they going to send out?"

"I can think of numerous possibilities..." Spock remarked, and so he could and he was…he was starting to consider that he might need a distraction. Seeing Kirk, seeing him standing with Cora between them, knowing the man was close to her…it was starting to set him off again, he could feel his blood starting to race through him, his heart pounding in his ears…

"A _five-year mission_, Spock," Kirk just cheered, not seeming to notice this, "That's deep space, that's uncharted territories, think how incredible that's going to be. Hello, ladies…" he smirked at two Fleet members as they walked past, "Jim Kirk."

Spock blinked, feeling the…emotions fading at Kirk's focus on the other women instead of Cora.

"Spock?" Cora gently put a hand on his arm, "Are you certain you are alright?" she eyed him intently, "You feel…angry."

He looked at her, seeing her teal eyes looking into his and felt his heart slow, the rest of his emotions calming and knew it had nothing to do with her abilities, "I am fine," he nodded, placing a hand on hers, gently squeezing it in promise.

He was fine.

For now.

Though the fact that she had remarked he seemed angry, he was starting to fear, as the pieces fell into place, that he knew _exactly_ what was 'wrong' with him and he knew he would need to run quite a few tests to ensure what he believed was happening, was actually happening.

~8~

The trio stood before Pike in his office, the man sitting behind his desk, reading a file as they stood in a line before him, Cora in between Spock and Kirk, though closer to Spock than Kirk, "Uneventful," Pike muttered.

Kirk glanced at Cora and Spock to see they looked equally as confused before he returned his attention to Pike, "Admiral?"

Pike looked up at him, gesturing to the file in his hands, "That's the way you describe the survey in Nibiru in your Captain's Log."

"Yes sir," Kirk nodded, not seeing Cora close her eyes, seeming to work something out, "I didn't want to waste your time with the details…"

Pike cut in, "Tell me more about this volcano. Data says it was highly volatile. If it were to erupt, it would wipe out the planet."

"Let's hope it doesn't, sir."

"Something tells me it won't."

"Well sir, volatile is all relative. Maybe our...data was off?"

Pike shook his head, "Cora," he glanced at her as she looked at him, "I want you to ensure all words spoken in this room are the truth," he ordered her, "No excuses, no falsehoods, I want the truth."

Cora swallowed hard, "Yes sir," she whispered, looking at Kirk apologetically as the man seemed to realize this was NOT going to be a praising trip to the office, and that he was, yet again, under suspicion except this time, instead of Cora determining if he was lying or not, she would be forced to have the truth from him instead.

Oh this was _not_ good…

"Thank you," Pike stood, turning to Kirk, seeing the boy fidget, already feeling the effects of Cora's influence to be honest, "Or maybe it didn't erupt because Mr. Spock detonated the cold-fusion device inside it, right after a civilization that's _barely_ invented the wheel, happened to see a Starship rising out their ocean!" he snapped, "That _is_ pretty much how you describe it, is it not?" he looked at Spock.

Spock's jaw tensed, seeing Cora flinching at the raised voice of the Admiral, "Admiral…" he began, an edge to his voice, feeling her tensing more beside him, clearly sensing the anger of the man himself (even if it was not directed at her) and not wanting her to feel so any longer.

But before he could continue, Kirk turned to him, "You filed a _report_? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I incorrectly assumed that you would be truthful in your Captain's Log," Spock replied.

"I would have been if I didn't have to save your life," Kirk snapped, "And, if it escaped your notice, kept your mate from dying with you!"

"A fact for which I am immeasurably grateful," Spock's eyes narrowed, feeling his hands clenching into fists at Kirk bringing up Cora, though he felt a swell go through him at the man remembering Cora was not just his negotiator, but HIS mate, "And the very reason I felt it necessary to take responsibility for the actions taken by…"

"Oh yeah," Kirk scoffed, "Don't be so noble, Pointy, if you weren't also throwing me under the bus."

Cora swallowed, trying to calm them down as well as keep them both honest, something rather difficult to do as often anger led to words that were almost too honest.

"Pointy?" Spock tilted his head, "Is that a derogative reference?"

"Gentlemen," Pike cut in, "Starfleet's mandate is to explore and observe, _not_ to interfere."

"Sir…" Cora began, "If…if nothing had gone wrong, the Nibiruans would have no idea we'd interfered."

"That's a technicality," Pike pointed at her for taking the side of her crew. Empathics were meant to be neutral, unbiased.

"I am Vulcan, sir," Spock took a step closer, Kirk frowning as he saw the man move partially in front of Cora, as though in a defensive move to protect her from Pike, "We embrace technicality. And Cora is MY mate, as Captain Kirk pointed out, she should be afforded the same expectations."

"You giving me attitude, Spock?" Pike's eyes narrowed at him, rising to his full height even if he was a bit...shocked at it, to hear the Vulcan using such a tone of voice, his expression hard and glaring, it was...not like the man he'd known the last few years.

"I'm expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously, sir. To which you are referring?"

"Stop," Cora moved to step between the two men, her one hand raised to the admiral, her other resting gently on Spock's chest, "Please," she added, sending calm to both men.

Spock looked at her, shocked as he felt his system calming, blinking as he realized…he'd been getting _angry_ just then. Angrier than he had a right to be. HE was not the one under question, Kirk was, yet…Pike kept shouting and it was upsetting his mate and he'd felt this...instant desire to protect her and defend her, even against a superior officer, even one he, logically, knew was NOT attacking HER, and…he hadn't even realized he was growing angrier till he felt himself calm.

"Out," Pike pointed at Spock, pulling his attention back to him, "You're dismissed."

Spock stared at him a long while, before turning, placing his hand on the small of Cora's back to lead her out with him.

"Not you Cora," Pike called, making Spock freeze.

The Vulcan turned, his jaw tensing as he stared Pike down.

"Go Spock," Pike ordered, but Spock remained there, Cora frowning as she looked at him, feeling…defiance radiating off him, an unwillingness to obey the command, an…unease at leaving her in the room with the two men, "Is there a problem, Commander?" Pike's own stance tensed, as though expecting a confrontation.

Cora reached out and placed a hand on Spock's arm, pulling his attention back to her, "It will be alright Spock," she told him, not knowing why he was reacting in such a manner, disregarding a direct order, seeming to not trust Kirk or Pike for some reason…it was…not like him.

Spock blinked, giving himself the minutest shake of the head, before he turned and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him, every instinct in him screaming at him NOT to leave his mate in a room with the two men, despite the fact his logical mind knew they were of no threat to her or him…

He leaned back against the door, taking a breath, before he felt something odd. He looked down at his hand to see…it was shaking…

~8~

In the office, Pike waited till the door had shut completely before gesturing Cora back over, indicating for her to take a seat before the desk as he dealt with the still-standing Kirk, "That order still stands," he pointed at her, "Honest dialogue," he nodded at her as she gave him one in return, before he faced Kirk, "Do you have _any_ idea what a pain in the ass you are?"

"I'm well aware sir," Kirk grumbled, feeling himself unable to even joke with Cora at work, all he felt was…the need to tell the truth, to be open with the man.

Oh, months later and it was still SO creepy how she did that. And he knew she could be subtle too, right now she was LETTING him know she was influencing him.

"So, tell me what did you wrong," Pike challenged, "What's the lesson to be learned here?"

"Never trust a Vulcan."

Pike let out a disbelieving scoff at that, knowing that, with Cora there, Kirk was being entirely honest. That was really and truly the ONLY lesson he'd learned from that. He shook his head, "Cora?" he pointed at her, "Explain to your captain what he did wrong."

Cora blinked, surprised she was being brought into this, "Um…he lied?" she guessed, really not sure exactly what Kirk might or might not have said on the log, but that Pike had implied it was far from the truth of Spock's report, "On an official report."

"Exactly," he nodded, turning back to Kirk, "Even your crew understands what's wrong about that."

"With all due respect sir," Kirk frowned, "You ARE talking about an Empathic and a Vulcan who are incapable of lying at all."

"That isn't the point Kirk," Pike shook his head, "You think the rules don't apply to you because you disagree with them."

"That's why you talked me into signing up in first place," he argued, "That's why you gave me your ship."

"I gave you my ship because I saw a greatness in you..." he shook his head, staring at Kirk, disappointed, "And now I see you haven't got an ounce of humility."

"What was I supposed to do?" Kirk glared, "Let Spock die? Yes, because that would have worked out _so_ well for the Fleet. If you've forgotten, sir, Cora is mated to him. If he dies, there's a strong possibility she'll die too and then the Fleet would be out its secret weapon right? And that would be on ME to lose an asset like her. No offense Cora," he looked at her, "You're my _crew_, not just an asset."

"And THAT's the point Kirk," Pike cut in before Cora could respond.

"And what point is that?" Kirk looked back at him.

"A captain would_ not_ have risked his First Officer's life in the first place!" Pike snapped, before taking a breath, feeling calm entering him, Cora's work, he sighed, "You were supposed to survey a planet, not alter its destiny," he began, more calmly than before, "You violated a dozen Star Fleet regulations and almost got everyone under your command killed."

"Except I didn't. You know how many crew have I lost since…since I took command?"

"That's your problem. You think you're infallible."

"Not one."

"You think you can't make a mistake, it's a pattern with you. The rules are for other people."

"Some should be."

Cora closed her eyes at that remark, shaking her head. Oh James T. Kirk…that was the _worst_ thing he could say. And it was truly all the more terrible in that he was being completely honest. He truly and deeply believed that was the way it should be, that some rules were meant for others but not for him, not for his crew, and not for his ship.

She understood better than most, that rules were set in place for a reason, by very wise men who were trying to help others learn from the mistakes made in the past. 'Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it,' Spock had said that to her once. It was something she had taken to heart. The rules were an amalgamation of those very lessons of the past. And Kirk was disregarding them, failing to learn from them.

"Cora?" Pike glanced at her.

"I have not stopped sir," she murmured, looking apologetically at Kirk, telling them both the honesty was still flowing in the room.

Pike sighed, "And what's worse is you're using blind luck to justify you playing God," Pike shook his head at Kirk, "Given the circumstances, this has been brought to Admiral Marcus's attention. He convened a special tribunal to which I was _not_ invited…you understand what Starfleet regulations mandate be done in this point? They've taken Enterprise away from you...they're sending you back to the Academy."

Cora's eyes widened at that, "Sir…" she tried at the same time that Kirk spoke, "Admiral, listen…"

"No," Pike shook his head, "Why should I listen?" he cut in, sounding more...tired than angry, the calm still flowing as well, keeping him from saying something he'd regret to the boy who held so much potential, "You don't listen anybody but yourself. You ignore the rational and logical council of your First Officer. You disregard the warnings of you Empathic, who, might I remind YOU, was assigned to the Enterprise and the Enterprise alone, which is a feat for such a new captain. If you don't listen to them, I can't listen to you. You don't comply with the rules, you don't take responsibility for anything, and you don't respect the chair. You know why...because you're not ready for it," he stared Kirk down a long moment, letting it sink in.

Kirk swallowed hard, understanding what Pike was saying, feeling it hit him deeply in the gut at how the man was putting it. He knew, with Cora there, that everything Pike was saying was _exactly_ how he felt. He HAD ordered a completely honest dialogue, which implied conversation back and forth, ultimately meaning HE was being forced to be honest as well. Everything he said…was the truth, was what he believed.

And it hurt, to know that Pike, the man who had brought him into Starfleet, who had been so relieved (both figuratively and literally) when he took up the role of captain of the Enterprise…was disappointed in him and felt he wasn't ready…it hurt.

"Dismissed," Pike muttered, turning to sit down in his chair, picking up the file and turning the back of the chair on them.

Cora glanced between the two men, seeing Kirk staring at Pike's chair as though hoping the man would turn around and say he was wrong. She frowned and stood, walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder, "I am sorry James T. Kirk."

Kirk flinched at that, he'd told her to call him captain…but he wasn't one anymore was he? So he simply turned and stormed out of the office, past Spock as he stood in the hall, the Vulcan looking up at Cora through the doorway, tilting his head in confusion as to what had happened.

She could only shake her head sadly.

A/N: Again, sorry it's a bit short :( I think we all know what's coming next though...Daystrom }:) I hope you also liked a bit more of Spock's Pon Farr popping up, I know shaking hands is a sign of it, MUCH more to come ;) And I can say that Uhura's conversation will come back to bite her ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Oh Khan will definitely have a hand in a few little moments ;)

I'm glad you noticed the 2 sides of Spock :) That was an intention for this story. The first one was about him accepting his human half. This one is about him dealing with his Vulcan half now ;) So I really wanted to show the two sides of him sort of tugging at him in a way :)

Overprotective Spock will definitely pop up, saw a tiny hint of it here :)

We'll find out in the next chapter who might get assigned where and if she'll be at the meeting }:) We'll have to wait and see if Cora suspects anything with the missles ;) Yup, Time Lady 4 is the bitter/resentful/angry one ;)


	5. Daystrom

Daystrom

Spock and Cora rushed through the halls of Daystrom, the meeting facility for the heads of Starfleet, having been called there only hours after their meeting with Pike. They hadn't seen Kirk since then, not that they had a chance to. Cora had just stepped out of Pike's office when the Admiral had called out to them that Spock was to report to one of the medical wings for a physical of sorts, a routine medical examination he'd assured them. Which...was odd as his medical records were all on file and up-to-date by McCoy on the Enterprise systems. There shouldn't have been a need for yet another physical to be done, no matter if he'd been trapped in a volcano. It was true that McCoy hadn't gotten a chance to examine him as the event had only happened recently, but Spock was clearly just fine...so why was it needed?

It was truly starting to worry Cora to think on, because she knew that sometimes records like that were completed and rereviewed by a member of Starfleet outside a ship's crew as a means to make sure nothing was being hidden from the records. Scotty had told her that he'd had to get a second medical examination done after having just had one for the outpost so that he could be assigned to the Enterprise in a permanent and official capacity. But…why would Spock need one done if he was already assigned to the Enterprise? It concerned her a great deal as, logically (she could see now what Kirk had meant about Spock rubbing off on her) what it might mean was something she was terribly hoping wasn't what it really was.

If Scotty had needed another examination in order to be reassigned to the Enterprise...did that mean that Spock was...was he being reassigned?!

Starfleet…they _couldn't_ separate her and Spock, could they? She was his mate, he was her…something…they _had_ to remain a pair. The Fleet DID allow married couples to be on the same crew, Kirk's parents were proof of that, but equally she knew that, at times, they _would_ separate siblings incase one ship was attacked. But she and Spock were the _farthest_ things from siblings.

But…if they weren't separating them, why hadn't SHE been asked to take part in a physical as well?

She hadn't even gotten a chance to really ask him how it had gone either. She had been required to wait in a small sitting area outside of the examination rooms while he was checked out. They'd been waiting for nearly two hours before an opening arose for Spock to be examined, and then it had been another two hours of tests and examinations and, when he'd finally stepped out of the facility...their communicators had gone off, signaling that they'd both been requested to attend Daystrom. It wasn't quite odd for Spock to go, being a First Commander he was second only to the captain and required to be there. But for HER to be requested as well…it _had_ to be serious.

When Empathics were involved, it was of the utmost delicacy and a very sensitive situation.

Spock had only managed to convey that not even HE was aware of how the examination had gone, that the test results would be sent to his communicator when they had been completed before they were rushing off. She had felt…on edge, especially when she'd felt his…nervousness, about the test results. It was like there was something he was dreading might show up in them, but that had to be impossible. He'd just been examined by McCoy a short while before the volcano incident and he'd been fine. Something couldn't have developed in such a short time as to make him so alarmed…not even something involving the volcano, he had been fully protected by his heat-resistant suit and the most that he'd been harmed was falling and landing in it and she could feel it herself that he had been fine soon after that.

She supposed all she could really do was hope that it wasn't anything too serious.

"Captain!" she heard Spock shout as they walked through Daystrom, she looked over to see that he had spotted Kirk walking ahead of them, the two of them rushing to catch up to him.

"Not anymore, Spock," Kirk sighed as he stepped into a lift, the two of them joining, "First Officer. I was demoted and you were reassigned."

"What?!" Cora's eyes widened, hearing that ONLY Spock had been reassigned.

Even Spock seemed a bit alarmed at that as he stiffened beside her, his eyes seeming to widen a fraction. His eyes immediately found Cora's for a moment, seeing the genuine fear and alarm in her eyes, before he couldn't bear to look at them and they shifted back to Kirk's...feeling an..._anger_ rising in him. He could feel it, just the notion that he was about to be separated from his mate, and not even that, but that she would be left with Kirk, that she would be on a ship with others far away from him and…

He swallowed hard, clenching his hands into fists at his side to stop them shaking before the others could notice. He closed his eyes tightly, pushing the anger down, pushing it deep down, not…not wanting to let it get to him but it was…surprisingly difficult to do a that point. And he didn't know why. He felt like it was a more profound anger than it should have been. It was certainly more powerful an anger than he'd ever felt before, this idea of Cora not being with him, not being beside him.

It had been...different to be on the Enterprise as opposed to the Academy. At the Academy he and Cora were only together a short amount of time, relatively speaking. They were together about six hours of the day three days a week and about four hours every other time, but, on the Enterprise, they were nearly inseparable. Even…even sleep was something they did together, JUST sleep. They had taken to sharing his quarters. He was not about to let her share a room with another Cadet, not now that she was his mate. Man, woman, alien, robot it didn't matter to him, she was _his_ mate and he would _not_ allow her to be in a room with another alone and unprotected. It was only logical that, as his mate, she share his room. It HAD posed the problem of the bed though.

He was quite sure that Cora was not ready for something like that, nor was he entirely comfortable with sleeping beside someone, to be so close that touch would be inevitable. During sleep, Vulcan's minds were more unprotected, he did not wish for his mind to join to hers unexpectedly due to the touching that the size of the bed would create and allow her to see his dreams. He could see hers, of course, there was the telepathic bond on his end that allowed him a more specific sense of her thoughts on things, much like there was an empathetic bond on her end that tied her to his emotions. But the reverse was not true unless he purposefully connected their minds via a mind-meld.

It was a conundrum of sorts as he was fairly certain that the physical touches of sleep would be welcomed by Cora, be something she would enjoy and wish to have…yet he'd thought the Vulcan half of him would take issue with that. His parents, he knew, while sharing a bed had more two beds pushed together instead. It was a compromise they had come up with so his mother could be closer to his father yet his father still felt some divide between them to avoid such touch. His bed was only one bed and not two. And while it was larger than a single crew member's bed…it was small enough where, lying side by side, they would gently be touching, it would be impossible to avoid it.

Which was why he had been so surprised when, the very first night, Cora turned on her side, to face the back wall, trying to give him space and not touch him…that he found himself…disliking that. He could feel her warmth only a short distance away, he could hear her mind, longing to be closer to him, and he felt himself…wanting that as well. He had turned on his side and held her, much like he had when she had been in the med-bay after Vulcan had been attacked. It seemed the human in him was a bit stronger when it came to their own bedroom, at night, just the two of them, just sleeping. It seemed to thrive on being able to hold her without others knowing, to just rest, to not be expected to do much of anything except hold her and touch her. It wasn't much different than his waking hours, he would always be more comfortable touching her when need be when no one could see him do so, touching being an intimate and reserved move for Vulcans, it just appeared...amplified in their own quarters, away from prying eyes, in such close proximity to one another. He _had_ been very surprised that his Vulcan half had accepted such a way of sleeping though. But he supposed, that part of him recognized her as his Mate.

While there was one point in the Vulcan life cycle that happened every few years that drove them to distraction when it came to their mate, it was NOT the only time a Vulcan could engage in such actions. They could be with their mate, physically, whenever they wanted. However the matter was private and was _never_ discussed with others. The Vulcan half of him had accepted Cora as his mate and seemed to find a level of comfort in touching her as well.

They didn't always sleep like that, so close and embraced, it had mostly been the first few nights, to show that they were both comfortable being so close to the other. At times he would lay on his back with her head resting on his chest, an arm around her. At others they would lay facing ach other, perhaps holding a hand. And sometimes they slept on their back with just their elbows brushing. It varied, but the point was that they were comfortable around each other, they shared a bed.

It meant they shared nearly every waking and sleeping minute together, more often than not. He couldn't imagine being separated from her as a result, months on end of this arrangement, both sleeping and waking had made it...the norm for him now. As quickly as she had become commonplace in his waking world while in the Academy, she had become essential to his sleeping world as well since he'd been on the Enterprise. To have spent so much time with her and to have her suddenly being threatened to be taken away…he wasn't sure he could do that.

But…he _tried_ to look at this logically, he tried to look at it as a Vulcan would, to see the point and the rules and regulations and reasons behind it. And he did, but…it was hard to push through that anger he felt and get to that rational thought, harder than it should have been, "It is fortunate that the consequences were not more severe," he reasoned logically.

But Cora didn't see it that way at all, and neither did Kirk it appeared, "You've gotta be kidding me," Kirk grumbled.

"Captain, it was never my intention to…"

"Not captain," Kirk cut in, Cora wincing as she felt how badly that hurt him, "I saved your life Spock. You wrote a report, I lost my ship."

"Commander," Spock amended, "I see now I should have alerted you to the fact that I submitted the report…"

"Now I'm familiar with your compulsion to follow the rules, I understand it more from her," he nodded at Cora, knowing it had literally and physically been beaten into her, "But, see, _I_ can't do that. Where I come from, if someone saves your life you don't stab them in the back."

"Vulcans cannot not lie any more than Empathics can," Cora defended. She could feel it every time an opportunity arose, it didn't even cross Spock's mind to lie.

"Then I'm talking to the half-human part of him," Kirk turned to Spock, "Right? Do you understand why I went back for you?" he held up his hand to stop Cora answering as she opened her mouth to express what he'd been feeling at the time, "Don't Cor," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly at how Spock's eyes narrowed as well for his little nickname for her, "I want to see if HE knows himself."

Spock was silent for a moment, he was…having trouble focusing on the matter at hand, at the simple question Kirk was asking. All he was thinking about was Kirk's use of Cora's name in his head, at how familiar the man was with HIS mate. He knew that many members of the Enterprise had taken to calling her that as well, calling her 'Cor' though McCoy seemed to favor just calling her 'Red,' which he assumed had to do with her hair. He knew that it was an innocent name for her but...it was grating him. And the fact that Cora was seemingly trying to help Kirk explain, taking his side (in his mind at least), it was bothering him, distracting him...

What had the question been again?

"Commander Spock?" the lift opened as a black man peeked out, speaking before Spock could form an answer, "I'm Frank Abbott, USS Bradbury. Guess you're with me."

Spock's lips pursed at that reminder that he_was_ being separated from Cora, "Yes...Captain," he forced himself to say, stepping out of the lift.

"The truth is I'm going to miss you," Kirk admitted, stepping past Spock to join Pike by a round table in the middle of the room.

Cora hesitated, glancing between Spock and Kirk, "Spock…" she began, not liking this at all. Empathics were rarely ever far away from their 'husband' or family. She didn't know what would happen with them being on different ships, what that would do to their bonds.

She knew her own bond to him could never be truly completed, with him not being an Empathic or having a tie to his emotions like she did, he couldn't reciprocate the emotional bond that she shared with him. And, while she knew that she couldn't complete the mental bond with him, not being telepathic at any level, she did know that there was one more step left in a Vulcan mating. It had been...something she'd been aware of for quite a few months.

Spock didn't know but...she had been in contact with his future self, Spock Prime as she had taken to calling the man. She spoke with him every so often, when Spock was distracted or required elsewhere on the ship. Even though Spock Prime wasn't HER Spock, he was still A Spock, and she did care for him. She liked to check in and make sure he was alright, inquire how the Vulcan colony was doing as they were Spock's people and she respected them. Sometimes she would even ask him questions that her Spock...well, that she was a bit embarrassed to ask him because she felt like the answer would either be difficult for him to speak of or that it should be something she already knew and didn't want to come across as 'stupid' to him. She had learned a lot from Spock Prime about some Vulcan customs, especially the traditional matings and other things she doubted her Spock would bring up at that current moment in time and point in their relationship.

As a Vulcan-Empathic mating had never occurred before, she really had no idea what affect it would have on either of them. She knew, from what she'd seen of her people on Hestia, that to be separated from one's partner often left an Empathic female distracted and agitated and more...frantic with worry for their partner. She...didn't want to be without him.

This time it was Spock's turn to reach out and take her hand, "Everything will be alright, Cora," he promised her, squeezing her hand as he often did when promising something, letting her feel his sincerity, his belief in the promise itself, in his determination to keep it.

She swallowed hard but nodded, turning to head off after Kirk, expected to sit with her crew at meetings such as this instead of her…Spock. She really _did_ need to see if there was a term for what he was to her.

She had just reached her seat beside Kirk when the man who had called the meeting, Admiral Marcus, arrived.

"Admiral Marcus, Sir," Frank Abbott greeted.

The man nodded, "Thank you for convening on such short notice," he gestured at the chairs, "Be seated," he sat down as did all of them, Cora shifting as she eyed the various men in the room, all too aware she was the only woman among them, "By now some of you heard what happened in London."

Small screens turned on before them, displaying news footage of a story that had been plaguing the Fleet since it happened, some sort of attack in London at one of the Starfleet bases. It had been an explosion that had taken out the entire historical archive and the surrounding buildings, killing some and injuring countless others.

"The target was a Starfleet Data Archive. Now it's a damn hole in the ground. 42 men and women are dead. One hour ago, I received a message from a Starfleet officer who confessed to carrying out this attack," they watched as a young black man appeared on the screen, "That he was being forced to do it by this man," another image replaced it, of a pale man with blue eyes and black hair, a serious expression on his face that had Cora frowning as she eyed it, already picking up on the minutest of expressive tells from just the images, "Commander John Harrison. He's one of our own and he is the man responsible for this act of savagery. For reasons unknown, John Harrison has just declared a one man war against Starfleet. Under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You here tonight represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region. And, in the name of those we lost...you will run this bastard down. This is a manhunt, pure and simple so let's get to work..."

Cora glanced over to see that Kirk was flickering through images and new captures of the man, Harrison, escaping the scene, a bag in hand.

"Earth's Perimeter sensors have not detected any warp signatures leaving the system. So we know he can't be far. You will park ships at blockade…"

Cora began to tune the Admiral out as she started to shift in her seat, feeling…something odd. She glanced at the large window behind Marcus, unable to keep her gaze from it because...there was something out there. It reminded her far too much of when she'd been on the Enterprise for the first time, how she'd felt Kirk's desperation as he ran through the ship to get to the Bridge. It was JUST like that except...this something she was feeling...it was angry…and…it was getting closer and closer and growing stronger and stronger and…

She gasped, reaching out instinctively to grab the nearest object…which just so happened to be Kirk's arm, not seeing Spock look over at the sudden move and frown, his hands clenching into fists at the sight of her clutching another man.

Kirk looked over at her, "What is it?" he whispered, seeing her eyes wide with fear and alarm, "Cora?"

"There's someone out there," she whispered back, looking at Kirk, "He's angry, _so_ angry I can _feel_ it and…he wants to hurt us! He's going to attack!"

"What do you mean?" Kirk asked, an unsettling feeling hitting him at her words, his own suspicions about Harrison seeming to be confirmed…if she was feeling what he thought she was, if she was feeling a MAN coming…

"Commander Kirk, is everything ok there?" Marcus looked at them, having heard them whispering even if he hadn't heard what was said.

"No sir," Kirk looked back at him, steeling himself to speak out, knowing Pike wouldn't approve but that if_ Cora_ was feeling someone THAT angry from such a distance, it was someone VERY angry.

"Well if you have something to say, Kirk, say it. Tomorrow is too late."

"You're aware of my associate, Admiral?" Kirk gestured at Cora, who seemed nearly having a panic attack as he rested his hand on her back trying to help her, not seeing Spock's eyes narrow even more, the Vulcan's jaw tensing at being stuck across the room while his mate needed him…

"The Empathic, yes," Marcus rolled his eyes, "Spit it out son, don't be shy."

"She's sensed someone coming sir," Kirk stood, Cora trying to calm down, biting her lip as she stared at the window still, trying to feel more, to keep a lock on the emotion, see how close it was getting, "Harrison."

"And how does she know it's him?" Marcus frowned, "She hasn't met him before."

"With all due respect sir, Cora wasn't the one to identify him as Harrison, _I_ was."

"What evidence do you have to support your claim?" Marcus asked, not quite believing it. He was of the impression that the Empathics weren't as useful as the rest of the Fleet would have him believe. He didn't see their achievements as outweighing their cost. To him, they weren't worth what the Fleet paid for them.

"Logic sir," Kirk barely refrained from rubbing his forehead at how HE was starting to sound like Spock now too, "Why the Archive? All that information is public record...if he _really_ wanted to damage Starfleet…this could be just the beginning."

"Beginning of what, Mr. Kirk?"

"Sir, in the event of attack, protocol mandates that senior commands gather. Captains and First Officers, at Starfleet HQ, right here. In _this room_."

Spock, who had stiffened considerably as Kirk spoke, started to relax only slightly as Kirk stepped away from Cora to look around the room, making his way to the window Cora had not looked away from yet, "It _is_ curious Harrison would commandeer a jump ship without warp capability," he agreed.

"He's here!" Cora gasped, leaping to her feet.

"Clear the room!" Kirk ordered as a bright orange light sprang up out the window, an attack headed right for them. He ran from the window, seeing Spock was already at Cora's side, all of them diving to the ground as lasers began to fire at them from outside, striking a few of the men.

It was utter chaos after that as Cora tried to focus on what was going on, tried to help...but with the attack happening so suddenly and so many people hurt, she couldn't concentrate. It felt like everything was happening so fast yet had been in slow motion at the same time.

Something was flying outside the window, a shuttle of some sort, firing beams and lasers at them. Kirk had run from the room with a phaser from a guard to attempt taking it out from the side as she and Spock frantically tried to get the men out of the line of fire, her struggling to get to one commander…but she could feel it before she even reached him, the life leaving him, making her shiver, feeling cold.

"Cora!" Spock shouted.

She turned to see him struggling to get Pike, who had been shot, out of the room and rushed over, helping heave the struggling man's arm over her shoulder, the man between them as they half-dragged him out of the room.

They got him to a small table outside the room, the man gasping for breath and struggling to hang on, his wounds severe, so severe that they knew he had only moments left. Cora felt tears prickling her eyes as she reached out and took the man's hand, sensing the end was near for him, sensing his fear and pain.

Spock eyed him with a sad look, before reaching out to touch his hand to Pike's face, subtly mind-melding him, seeing what the man was thinking and feeling in his mind. Cora frowned, feeling it as well and closed her eyes, placing her other hand on Pike's as she sent him comfort and compassion, letting him know he _wasn't_ alone, adding as much soothing emotion as she could, trying to numb the pain, remove it, make it as peaceful as she could...

Spock's eyes snapped open as he looked at her, seeing she was not about to let the man experience death alone and scared as he'd seen in the man's mind only moments ago. She refused to let him suffer as he passed. He watched her face carefully, seeing a tear fall from her eye as Pike breathed his last breath, Cora closing her eyes in sorrow at that, unable to bring herself to let go of his hand despite feeling everything inside him still and dim and fade and grow colder. She shuddered, feeling the life leave him, feeling everything just...stop...

Behind them the firing ceased, moments before a large crashing noise was heard as the shuttle that had been firing plummeted to the ground. Kirk came running around the corner, stopping short when he saw Pike lying there, unmoving, and Cora's devastated expression.

He shook his head and ran over, Cora standing to allow him closer to the man, stumbling back, shaking...only realizing that Spock had gotten up and moved when she felt him beside her, a hand resting on her shoulder, his method of offering her comfort when she was upset, when he was unsure of if a hug or embrace would be proper.

They watched as Kirk shook his head again feeling tears in his eyes as he leaned forwards and buried his face on Pike's chest, the man who had been like a father to him lost as well. Cora took a breath, steeling herself before stepping out of Spock's hold to reach out and place a hand on Kirk's shoulder, trying to offer him comfort as he grieved for the man.

~8~

"Spock!" Cora screamed as she shot up in bed, panting, shaking, a fine layer of sweat on her brow as she closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"Cora," Spock spoke beside her, waking abruptly from her sudden move and shout, "What is wrong?" he looked at her, his heart...racing at hearing the utter terror in her voice.

"I...I..." she swallowed hard, taking a breath, "I...merely had a...a nightmare," she admitted quietly.

Spock tilted his head, "About me?" he reasoned.

She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut even tighter, "It wasn't Pike."

Spock blinked, not quite sure what she meant for a moment, before it dawned on him, she had dreamt that it hadn't been Pike that had been shot and killed but...himself, or he assumed it was him given her scream as she awoke. he reached out a tentative hand, curling a finger under her chin to turn her head to face him, Cora opening her eyes to look at him for the gesture, "I am fine," he reassured her, "I am still here."

"But you will not be for long," she reminded him, tears in her eyes at having to remind herself that as well. It was...his last night as a member of the Enterprise. They had been given rooms nearby after the attack, to recuperate, to be treated if they needed medical attention, and it might be...their last night together for a long while.

And that scared her, it was like her dream coming true in two ways. By dreaming him instead of Pike she relived the horror of what had just happened, and also represented the fact that he wasn't going to be there with her any longer.

It hurt.

Spock was silent for a long while, unsure of what he could say to that to make her feel better, to comfort her. Logically...he knew there was nothing that could be said. He had been reassigned, it was an order by Starfleet, it was not something he could change. He could petition them, argue, plead, with them to place him back with the Enterprise, but...there was no guarantee it would work and he couldn't bring himself to promise Cora something he couldn't keep.

"I am here now," was all he could think to say, "I am alive," he added.

Cora nodded, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down before she laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, her right hand resting on her stomach, her left lying beside her. He looked down at her a long while before lying down as well, staring at the ceiling as she was, before he reached out his right hand and took her left one gently. He squeezed it, feeling her shifting her hand, entwining their fingers as she squeezed it back.

"Many thanks," she whispered and he could see in her mind through the contact that she was referring to his holding her hand.

"You are welcome," he responded...before he frowned, getting another thought off her, "What was Lieutenant Uhura wrong about?" he inquired.

Cora sighed, "She claimed that you did not care for me," she said softly, "Because you refused to be rescued from the volcano. That you were selfish," she turned her head to look at him, "But you are never so with me," she smiled, squeezing his hand once more, his hand in hers all the proof she needed to know she was right.

Spock tilted his head to look at her in return, seeing that she truly believed that in her eyes. He looked at them, watching her, holding her gaze...his attention never wavering even as she slowly fell asleep once more, which he was thankful for. Cora had not...had many nightmares. Most were of her time on Hestia, but this...was new. He knew it was a combination of what had happened and the shock of his reassignment getting to her and...he wanted her to sleep. He knew that the mind processed things better when it was asleep and relaxed and he was hoping it would help her come to terms with what would happen in the morning.

If only HE could fall asleep and do the same. But he couldn't, he tried, but he felt as he had last night, that restlessness keeping him awake, keeping him from drifting off. He looked over though, when he heard his communicator beep off on a table across the room. He frowned, it was the middle of the night, there shouldn't be anyone contacting him at that time, not even the Enterprise. He glanced at Cora a moment before he slowly let go of her hand, careful not to wake her as he stood, getting off the bed and making his way across the room to the table. He picked up the communicator and froze.

It was the results of his medical examination.

He felt the air leave him at the data displayed before him. He was perfectly healthy...except for a growing imbalance of adrenalin, an imbalance that was steadily growing more and more rapidly...an imblance he had been dreading proof of.

He stiffened, looking back at Cora as she lay on their bed, sleeping, her head still turned to where he'd been lying, realizing what this might mean for her...because it wasn't just any odd imbalance...

It was the Pon Farr.

A/N: Pon Farr to be explained in the next chapter }:) But yay! He knows what it is! I'm very excited to see his reaction(s) to it ;) I felt so bad to write Cora in this chapter, with Daystrom and all that she learned and all that happened :'(

Poor Pike :(

But tomorrow we'll really see Pon Farr starting to set in. I think, once you're aware of something, it hits that much harder because it's on your mind and you KNOW it's there and are constantly thinking of it and trying not to think of it ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I love 'pointy' too :) I hate when plagiarism happens as well -sigh- :(

I'm very excited for Khan and his reaction to Cora too :)

I'm sorry it keeps happening too :( But thank you -hugs back!- :)


	6. New Orders

New Orders

Spock let out of breath staring wide-eyed at Cora before he forced himself to turn, pulling his gaze away from her and directing it out the window instead. This could _not_ be happening. Not Pon Farr. He had hoped that he would be spared this particular moment in the Vulcan life-cycle given his half-human nature. But it seems that the ancient drives were just too strong and too powerful and deeply rooted in his Vulcan half for that to happen. He was still feeling its affects, despite his 'disadvantage' as the other Vulcans would've called it. On Vulcan, growing up, his half-human side had had only one single advantage he'd been able to see, the possibility that it would allow him to not be affected by the Pon Farr. It was...not something any Vulcan truly wished to experience due to what happened during it.

The Pon Farr was a very...trying moment in a Vulcan's life. And it was a moment that was doomed to be repeated every seven years. It was a time where they lost control of all the emotions they had kept so tightly bound, mainly those regarding their instincts, their aggressions, their passions. It was a moment where the mating drives of his people rose to the surface and took them over slowly but surely, their bodily functions and primitive urges overtaking the power of their mind, building up to the point where, if it was not resolved or released...they died. Throughout the entirety of their lives, Vulcans had the ability through force of will and meditation to control their emotions and remain logical, looking at things in an unattached manner. During Pon Farr was when everything they had striven to hide and to control and worked so hard to restrain boiled to the surface in an uncontrollable swirl of emotion so strong that not even the power of their mind could do could anything against it.

There were but three ways to deal with Pon Farr once it had set in. One option was that of deep meditation, spending many hours of deep focus on their body and concentrating all their power of will towards reining in the rampant flames that engulfed them, manipulating every aspect of their biological urges to resist the effects of Pon Farr. Unfortunately, he was unsure of his ability to utilize such a feat as not many Vulcans could manage such a thing, only a handful had ever succeeded in controlling the Pon Farr in such a way.

The next way was quite the opposite of meditation, of peaceful meditation, in that it often led to...combat to the death. The second method was to release the aggressive emotions through physical interaction, through challenges, through fighting and combat and duels. It was a dangerous method to attempt as, often, Vulcans in Pon Farr, in battle, would find themselves consumed by a bloodlust of sorts. They could not and would not stop until their opponent was dead and the bloodlust was satisfied. The Vulcans of old, before they had adapted the teachings of logical thought, had been so uncontrolled in their emotions that to anger one could lead to such bloodlust rising all too easily. It was...not a method he wished to seek as it reminded him far too much of the 'barbaric' people his species had once been. And...to do such a thing would mean to face a member of his crew in a 'fight to the death' as the humans would say. He did not wish to take another's life because he had lost control of his rational mind. Should he end up fighting a member of the Enterprise...they were all...important to him, to Cora especially and for that reason alone he did not wish for the Pon Farr to lead to that end.

He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against the cool glass of the window, already able to feel how the chill of the glass soothed him slightly. It meant his body was already taking on the fever-like symptoms that also accompanied Pon Farr. Thinking of Cora...it led him to the last way to end the Pon Farr...taking a mate.

That particular method was the only one he refused, absolutely refused, to give into.

On Vulcan, those who had been paired as children would feel the Pon Farr striking them and seek each other out. They would find their mate and...be with them in a physical sense to expel their pent-up passions. While Vulcans did not ONLY mate or enjoy physical unions such as that ever seven years, during the Pon Farr it was almost as though they were FORCED to do so. And...he didn't want that. He didn't want that for Cora.

He couldn't do that to her.

Logically he knew he had to do something soon, the Pon Farr could kill him within a week and he was certain it had begun a day or two ago. He was running out of time. His rational mind told him it was really down to two options, as meditation was hardly ever successful, and now he was cursing himself for not having realized it was happening and done something before it reached this point. But it was too late now, the Pon Farr had set in. He was at quite the impasse of knowing what he should do next, the three options open to him (well, two really), but knowing that he could not and did not want a part in any of them.

To meditate would take more time and concentration than he could afford. Being a part of the Enterprise or on any starship would not be the same as it was on Vulcan or on the New Vulcan colony. Had he been among his people, they would have understood that the Pon Farr had set in, the males especially would understand what could come of it if he did not find a mate. The males of his planet would have expected this in a way as he was one of the few NOT bound to another when he had been younger, at his mother's insistence and also due to his 'disadvantage.' The Vulcan males would have expected him to either meditate (and doubted he would succeed) or fight one of them. They would be prepared for it, any member of the crews would NOT be. Pon Farr was NOT something the Vulcans talked about with anyone outside their species except for the one in charge of the medical sector of the ship, and ONLY them He doubted very much that McCoy had any experience in Pon Farr and, even knowing what it was, might not see the symptoms because of it. The crew would not be expecting him to be angry, to lash out, to attack, they would be unaware.

And he was truly concerned that the Pon Farr might reach such levels that he might one day just lash out at them, that he might attack them for no apparent reason, and then they would be forced to fight to defend themselves. He did not want to be responsible, while he still had logical thought, for the death of one of his...friends.

As much as he didn't want to hurt the crew, he...didn't want to hurt Cora either.

He blinked his eyes opened and looked over his shoulder at Cora, still sleeping peacefully on their bed. Cora, his mate, his _chosen_ mate, not one his parents had paired him with, but the one that _he_ and his own heart had chosen for himself, the one who seemed to love him for him, for both Vulcan and Human. She was the first one to accept him for who he was, for being both. She had suffered so terribly in life, been hurt so deeply, that all he wanted to do, from the moment he'd gotten to know her better, was protect her and make her life better.

He had done extensive research into the history of Hestia after he had taken Cora as his mate, wanting to know everything about them, about how they chose their own 'mate,' he could not find a word to describe what he was to her in her language. The only thing he could truly gleam from the archaic history of her home had been obscure references to the methods of their 'mating' rituals, the true methods having been lost throughout the centuries, through the breeding programs imposed by the Mas'heirs. All he knew from his research, the meager information that he had been able to find, was that physical touch, while it had always been important to the Empathics, was even more essential and sacred when it was in the culmination of a bonding ritual or of a breeding program, whenever they joined themselves with their chosen partner for the rest of their lives. That moment, that physical union, was the most sacred aspect of her planet's history, aside from childbirth.

And yet it was something that was so unspoken of among his people that they did not talk of the Pon Farr even among themselves. They merely spoke of it as a warning to their children, to know what to expect, but never went into personal detail about it. His people did not often touch and so, the idea of being driven to touch, of having such an experience under Pon Farr, under something that took the choice and their own desire for their mate away from them...was not welcome. Often times the Pon Farr was the first moment two Vulcans were together in such a physical sense, it drove them both to mate, but that was between two Vulcans.

Cora was an Empathic. And the Pon Farr? That was NOT how he wanted his first time with Cora to be, he didn't want THAT to be the driving force towards such a union. Cora had been so patient with him, so understanding, so compassionate and always tried to respect his beliefs and customs and traditions, understanding and refraining from the touch that her people craved and thrived on because it was not something he was entirely comfortable with. She had been the one that was the most patient in their relationship, the one who tried her best to make HIM feel comfortable and to please him and make the touches they did have special that...

He could do this for her.

He didn't want something that as so sacred and important and meaningful to her to be...forced to happen, because of him. He looked at her, just lying there, sleeping, noticing how comfortable she was around him, how much she trusted him, how much she had opened herself and grown because of him, how much she...loved him. It was not every day an Empathic didn't touch someone and she held back more times than he could count, in a single day, for him. He wouldn't cheapen something meaningful to her because he merely 'had an itch' as the humans would say. It wasn't right. It wasn't proper. And it wasn't fair to her.

He was sure it was probably his human half speaking to his rational mind...while it still _could_...but he just could not bring himself to do that to Cora. He couldn't bring himself to force this upon her simply because of something wrong with his Vulcan half. He didn't want her to think, even for a moment, that he had united with her in such a significant way because he was being pushed to do so, he wanted her to know that, when it happened, it was just...him.

He swallowed hard, forcing himself to look away and return to the window, he hadn't even realized he'd started to walk towards her till he'd ended up at the foot of the bed just now. Logically...there was only one real option left to try, the one he had discounted all along. He refused to use Cora like that, he refused to fight or kill one of the crew so...that left only the deep meditation as a method to conquer the Pon Farr. Though...he honestly wasn't sure if it would even work. He had...never meditated that deeply, as deeply as it was said was needed for the Pon Farr to be abated. He wasn't sure how long it would take or what he should focus on or if it would even seem to be working for an iota of a moment but...he needed to try. He needed to do _something_ to push the Pon Farr off, to shake it from him. He needed to do it and he needed to do so quickly.

He step back from the window, kneeling on the floor, his hands clasped before him as he closed his eyes, trying to meditate as deeply as he could in the time he had before Cora would wake. It was dark and quiet and peaceful and he hoped it would be just what he needed to meditate enough to do what he wished to do. Or at least to hold off the effects till he could get somewhere alone and truly focus. He almost found himself grateful that he might be a reassigned to the Bradbury. If he was away from Cora, then he wouldn't be able to let the Pon Farr drive him to things with her. And being away from the Enterprise meant he wouldn't harm the crew either.

He took a breath, focusing on his emotions, on the feelings, the aggression and the passion and the...natural drives...within him, focusing on controlling them, on tying them down...trying his best not to let them control him...

Not even noticing Cora shift on the bed, feeling what he was feeling as she slept...

~8~

Spock and Cora stood outside of Starfleet Head Quarters in London, Spock on the comm. with Kirk, "Commander, Mr. Scott has found something in wreckage of Harrison's ship, he's asked to see us right away," he reported to Kirk, the two of them having been waiting there with Scotty, Cora doing her best to keep the man calm as he seemed rather agitated about something yet refused to say what it was till Kirk was there.

Spock took a deep breath, trying his best to get a handle on his emotions. The meditation...hadn't worked at all, in fact it was almost as though it had made everything worse. It turned out his human mind made him less able to focus and concentrate the way a Vulcan did during meditation. His mind would start to wander to feeling the emotions and the things that inspired them than towards really trying to actively restrain them. He'd come out of it to the sound of Cora starting to stir to find himself...in deeper trouble than before. Having spent the entire night doing little else but actively thinking of the Pon Farr and the feelings it stirred within him...he was finding it harder and harder to keep his promise to himself that he wouldn't let the Pon Farr dictate his relationship with Cora. He had found himself staring at her longer, hearing less of what others said around him when she was there, and...he found himself even more possessive of her.

Scotty had hugged her when he saw them...he'd wanted to rip the man's arm off.

Which was a rather startling and unexpected thought to strike him, it was highly illogical and irrational too but...he knew it was the Pon Farr. It was pushing him towards her, towards a woman he had never been able to or wanted to resist in the past. And now, to try and implement a measure of control that had never existed in the first place...it was becoming increasingly difficult to control himself around her and around others who were around her.

"Captain," Scotty called, spotting the man as he walked over to join them, Cora's red hair visible from a mile away and leading him right to them, "I found this in the crashed jump ship, sir," he held up a small box of some sort, "This is how the bastard got away."

The attack on the headquarters, the attack that had taken Pike's life was devised and implemented by none other than John Harrison, the man they'd been told to capture and not let escape. They didn't know why he had attacked, all Cora had managed to gleam off the man was that he was angry, truly and powerfully angry about something involving Starfleet. Kirk had managed to stop the man, had managed to take down the ship he'd been flying and attacking in, but the man had transported out before he could be caught, the ship falling to the ground, leaving them to tend to the wounded.

"What do you mean?" Kirk asked, his voice hard as he thought back to that night, just a few hours ago, to the death of Pike, to how Harrison had stared him down as he transported away.

"It's a portable transwarp beaming device," Scotty explained.

"A…transport device?" Cora frowned, not entirely sure she'd gotten all that scientific-sounding talk, technology was NOT her strong suit at all.

"Aye Lassie," Scotty nodded, he had seemed to have come to a determination that, as long as she insisted on calling him 'Montgomery Scott' instead of Scotty, that he would call her 'lassie' instead of Cora…it had been going on since he'd been officially assigned to the Enterprise.

"Can you figure out where he went?" Kirk asked.

"I already did, sir, and you are not going to like it. He's gone to the one place we…we just can't go."

"And where is that?" Kirk demanded.

"Kronos," Scotty sighed, handing them a small device he'd used to track the transport.

Kirk's eyes widened as he turned and ran off, Spock and Cora rushing after him, following him into the building behind them and up to the top floor where the commanders and captains of Starfleet, the ones who survived, were meeting, "Admiral sir," he called, rushing to Marcus, "He's not on Earth. He on Kronos, sir. I request my command to be reinstated and your permission to go after him."

Marcus glanced back at the various men, "Give us a minute," he ordered, the men slowly filing out of the room as he turned back to Kirk, "Kronos?"

"Yes, sir."

"He is telling the truth sir," Cora added.

"I can see that," Marcus waved her off, Spock's eyes narrowing at that as he stepped closer to Cora, seeing her look down, "So Harrison's gone to the Klingon homeworld? Is he defecting?"

"We're not sure, sir," Kirk replied.

"He has taking refuge in the Keth province," Spock added, "A region uninhabited..."

"He's _got_ to be hiding there, sir," Kirk cut in, "He knows if we even go _near_ Klingon space, it will be all out war. Starfleet can't go after him, but_ I_ can. Please, sir."

"All out war with the Klingons is inevitable, Mr. Kirk," Marcus remarked, which made Cora frown, sensing something…unsettling about him, "If you ask me, it's already has begun. Since we first learned of their existence, the Klingon Empire has conquered and occupied two planets that we know of, fired on our ships half a dozen times. They are coming our way…"

"What are you not telling us Admiral?" Cora murmured.

Marcus stiffened, as though realizing for the first time there WAS an Empathic there and that his words alone might be giving off more than he wished her to pick up. He swallowed, looking at them, "London was not an archive," he offered instead, "It was top secret branch of Starfleet designated to Section 31. They were developing defense technologies, training our officers to gather intelligence on Klingons, and any other potential enemy who means to do us harm. Harrison was one of our top agents."

Cora eyed him intently, there was something…wrong about that, how he was speaking, what he was saying. It was like…he was trying too hard to cover something up, like he was picking his words too carefully so she would sense enough truth behind them not to question him. Sadly being around Spock had made her curious and…she didn't trust the man. He was hiding something.

She glanced at Spock to see he was…stiff, very rigid and tense. He seemed like he was actively trying not to move or even breathe and it was starting to worry her. He wasn't speaking or reacting like she knew he would. He'd be contradicting Marcus and trying to reason with Kirk and yet he was silent.

"Now he's a fugitive and I want to take him out," Kirk said, alarming Cora even more to hear the…_vengeance_ in his voice.

"Pike always said you were one of our best and brightest," Marcus smiled at him, which made Cora frown, the words were too…praising, not that James T. Kirk was undeserving of praise but the _way_ he was saying it, the emotion behind it, it made her feel like he was 'buttering him up' as the humans would say, "You should have heard him defend you. He's the one who talked you to joining Starfleet, wasn't he?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did he ever tell you who talked him into joining? His death is on _me_. And yours can't be."

"Sir, please, all I..."

"Mr. Spock," Marcus glanced at him, Spock's head jerking up from where it had drifted to look at Cora, "You said that the province where Harrison is hiding was uninhabited?"

"Affirmative, sir."

Cora's head snapped over to him, hearing a…tremor, a strain, in his voice as he spoke for the first time in a while. She…almost couldn't feel what he was feeling, he was actively trying to bury the emotions, dim them, hide them from her, which really was starting to worry her quite a bit, he'd never really done that to her before. The entire basis of their relationship was centered on the fact that she could feel his emotions, she understood him without him needing to express them...and now he was trying to put a halt to that in a way?

"As part of our defensive strategy, 31 developed a new photon torpedo. Long range, untraceable. It will be invisible to Klingon sensors. I don't want you hurt," he turned to Kirk, "But I want to take him out. You park on the edge of the Neutral Zone, you lock on to Harrisons position, you fire, you kill him and hall ass."

Kirk nodded, "Permission to reinstate Mr. Spock as my First Officer."

"Granted."

Kirk nodded and turned to head out of the office, Cora glancing between him and Marcus before following, Spock seeming to be following her instead of Kirk.

They had just stepped into the hall to see Kirk was already in the lift at the end of it, the doors closing just as they reached it, so they took the second lift. Cora was silent a moment, hesitating to ask a question that was bothering her as she saw Spock seem to grow more stiff and tense when the doors shut, leaving just them there.

"Are you alright Spock?" she asked him, glancing at him, watching his face for any of his typical tell-tale signs of emotion, the small ones that only she seemed able to see because she knew what to look for.

But there was nothing.

"I am fine," he stated, his eyes closing as he waited for the lift to reach the ground floor.

"Are you certain?" she frowned, feeling him starting to close his emotions off even more, "You are…quiet. You did not speak as much as you would have."

And it was true, he would have been arguing more with Marcus and Kirk about their plan, he wouldn't have cared if it was a superior officer in the admiral, he would have cited the rules and the code and all manner of other things to remind both men that what they had ordered Kirk do to Harrison was against the Fleet's commandments.

But he'd been silent. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought he was agreeing with the men, but she could feel his distaste with what was being said, so why didn't he speak up? It was unlike him to be so quiet when rules were about to be broken before him.

"I am merely attempting partial meditation," he remarked.

"I thought meditation was done in a calm, serene environment, with peace and quiet?" she asked, recalling a few times he would meditate in his office as she worked on a paper. She hadn't ever seen him trying to meditate while focusing on something else entirely.

"I am trying to focus my mind," he supplied instead.

"On what?" she shook her head, confused.

But before he could answer the doors opened and they stepped out to see Kirk and Scotty waiting for them.

Spock watched as Cora stepped away from him to head to Kirk and felt a breath seep out of him at the distance now between them. It had been...hard to control himself in the lift just then, with it just the two of them, with her so close and looking at him with those eyes so full of concern and focused on HIM. He had to force himself NOT to look at her, had found himself distracted by her in Marcus's office, he hadn't been able to keep his whole attention on the conversation at hand, getting snippets of it as he felt his gaze and attention drift to Cora. Which was not something that was befitting of a Vulcan to do, to lose their focus and to become so distracted.

But he hadn't been able to help it. The glow of the sunlight through the windows had reminded him of their sessions at the Academy, how her hair seemed to glow in a halo of fire when the light struck it. She was beautiful. And she was distracting him without even realizing it and he was failing to control himself in not letting her distract him.

He knew what this was and he knew the consequences of it, the Pon Farr was…dangerous to his species. He had hoped to avoid it, that in being half human he would be spared from experiencing this. It seemed…he had underestimated the strength of his Vulcan half. So far it was not…quite so bad as he had heard tales of it being. He was sincerely hoping that his human half might help stem some of the…aggression and emotion from him, help him rein in his Vulcan half.

It was a complete reversal of how he normally felt. Usually his Vulcan half was the side of him that allowed him control, allowed him to focus and restrain his human emotions. Now it was the opposite, he was hoping his human half might be able to temper his Vulcan half. He hoped it would because...for a full Vulcan to experience the Pon Farr...it meant that he would either need to take his mate or let out his aggressions in a duel to the death...or die.

"Mister Spock!" Kirk called, pulling Spock's attention over before he headed out of the lift to join the crew.

~8~

Cora followed the men into one of Starfleet's hangers, ready to be taken up to the Enterprise in a shuttle, glancing over when she saw McCoy, well, felt him first, heading towards them, worried, "Jim? Where were you?"

"For what?" Kirk glanced back at him.

"Your medical exam. 10 hours ago you were at damn fire-fight. Now, it's my duty to..."

"I'm fine, Bones."

"The hell you are," McCoy scoffed.

"I'm _fine_," Kirk insisted.

McCoy rolled his eyes and looked at her, "Red?"

"He's ly…" she began.

When Kirk turned to her and pointed at her, "Don't answer that."

She bit her lip as Kirk headed into the shuttle, Spock already onboard, the first one in the shuttle actually. He'd sort of...briskly walked ahead of them. She was worried, he seemed…agitated, angry even but she didn't know why. He was trying hard, harder than she'd ever felt him try before, to control his emotions, to…bury them once more.

It was like he was attempting to become Vulcan all over again, like all he'd come to terms with in the past, with his human side, was being forgotten. She…couldn't get a specific reading from him. Vulcans were normally one of the easiest people for her to be around. Their emotions being so controlled, it made it easier for her to focus. She had gotten used to being on the Enterprise, to be held in a ship with so many other people, feeling their emotions, she'd been able to separate herself from them, with Spock there to balance her.

She had always been able to read him in that sense, he didn't…hold back. He may not give an outward expression of his emotions but he DID feel, and…he let her feel what he did. It was how their relationship worked, why it worked, what she felt he didn't have to show her outwardly, he just…let her feel it herself, to know how he felt without needing to express it. But now…it was like…

She swallowed hard, like he didn't want her to feel his emotions any longer. And that...scared her. What if…the Vulcan part of him was starting to see her as an…inferior mate? What if he was…regretting it? She knew enough of Vulcan matings to know that, while she was not of his species and couldn't claim any of the ways out of a mating, HE could still decide if she was unworthy and cast her off. They…hadn't reached the final step of a true Vulcan mating, the um…physical culmination of it. There was still time for him to find a more suitable mate if he chose.

She was truly growing scared that he might find her lacking or wanting and was considering someone else besides her. She knew he'd formed the beginning of the necessary bonds because she'd been in pain, Vulcan had been destroyed, his mother had died, SHE was suffering, and…she was starting to fear he'd just been overwhelmed, that he'd done it out of a rash decision, an emotional one, and now that his rational mind was catching up to him he was starting to see that as a mistake as Vulcans often did when an emotional reaction was elicited from them.

All she could do though...was pray she was wrong.

A/N: Poor Spock and Cora :( Things'll be getting interesting though, with Khan and the Pon Farr. Let's just say...Spock might keep having a hard time staying away from Cora and not letting her distract him ;)

And wow! I can't believe the story is half over already! Lol, also means 1 week till I post a Loki/OC

Some notes on reviews...

I can't say if Kirk will die or what from just yet, we'll have to wait and see ;)

They were nearly separated yup, but gotta love Kirk keeping them all together :)

Nope, no M-rated scenes from me ever, sorry :) I don't do lemons/limes/sex scenes. The most I ever came close to what might have been an M scene was in my Academic Series where 'Reavers' from Firefly were involved for a paragraph or two (mostly an attack being stopped, not other things they do). I sort of feel like I can't do that to the characters, exploit them like that. I'm probably weird, but even though they're fictional, I respect them too much to take something meant to be private and intimate and meaningful and make it nothing like that :( So nope, we'll be getting some lead up to things that could be M level though :)

Lol, thanks! I went back and fixed it :)

Spock will fight a little bit, and it'll just tear him in two directions, but a lot of things will nudge him one way or the other ;) I'm glad you're excited for the future stories :) I can't wait to get to them too :) We might see a bit of Cora, I'm thinking of doing a crossover themed one shot of Cora and my Kirk OC (Victoria) meeting and a small adventure ;)


	7. Questions and Concerns

Questions and Concerns

Cora looked over, pulling her attention away from her thoughts when McCoy spoke beside her, "Come on Red," he gestured her into the shuttle before him, ever the 'southern gentleman,' and she stepped in to see Kirk taking a seat, Spock already there in the last seat, Kirk leaving a space between him and Spock which she knew was for her. She had to smile when she saw that, Spock could have easily taken a seat elsewhere or made it so Kirk sat right beside him, but he hadn't.

"Status report, Mr. Spock," Kirk sat, leaning back so Cora could move past him to sit in the middle seat.

"The Enterprise should be ready for launch by the time we arrive," Spock stated.

Kirk frowned, glancing at the man as he…stared right ahead, not even glancing at Cora as she sat beside him, not even moving an inch save to stiffen more than he already was. He looked down at Spock's hands, resting on the man's knees, curling into fists, as Spock swallowed hard. That was…not quite like him. Whenever Cora was around the man would seem to relax more than when Cora wasn't there. He seemed just an inch more human with Cora there, but now she WAS there and Spock was acting like he was trying his damnedest to ignore her.

"Good…" he said slowly, eyeing Spock with worry, "Good…"

Oh this was not even remotely good!

Well, it was good that the Enterprise would be ready, but it was FAR from good how Spock was acting right then.

He really, REALLY hoped they weren't in a fight or something, not just because that would complicate things, their ability to work together, but…Cora was terrifying when she was upset. Not terrifying in a bad way, well…that sounded impossible and confusing. But…when she was deeply hurt by something, or felt something powerfully enough, often if she was just too exhausted to hold it in, she would end up projecting what she was feeling to everyone on the ship. It had only happened once that he knew of and he was infinitely thankful that the attack on Vulcan had happened when Cora was in fighting spirits and not when she'd been tired…otherwise he feared for the crew, all of them experiencing what she had.

He supposed she could be rather frightening when she was angry as well. He…hadn't really seen her angry though, but…it didn't mean she wasn't a force to be reckoned with when she was confident. He, Uhura, and McCoy had taken to helping Spock with his quest to show Cora just how strong she was. He had really taken Spock's words to heart before they'd gone to face Nero, how he'd told Cora she was stronger than the Mas'heirs, that she just needed to see it. They tried to build her up a bit, get her to talk back to them, to argue, to embrace the wonders of sarcasm. She was hesitant about it, of course, but there HAD been times where they'd touch on a subject that they KNEW would get to her or that she felt passionately about and she wouldn't back down in debating…sometimes even arguing…her point. Half the time it ended up being when he'd make one too many jabs at Spock that she'd defend his Vulcan heritage when the man wasn't there.

He wouldn't tell anyone, as he was sure Uhura and McCoy hadn't felt the same given they were less forceful and pushy than he was in their methods of helping her, but…he swore that when Cora stared to get a little worked up about a topic, when he pushed one button too many…that he could feel a sort of power radiating off her. Not really an emotion per say, but…the ability in general starting to rise, like her own emotions were fueling it. He always felt a sense that he should back down and stop whenever it happened and he often did. He knew it wasn't Cora influencing him, she always refrained from doing so unless it was a direct order from him or Spock or if the situation was reaching a dangerous level and needed calm. It was…an interesting experience to see her get worked up and he was honestly afraid for whoever ticked her off to the point of anger in the future. Despite Empathics being forbidden to harm, everyone had their limits.

But the point still stood that, if all this kept up and Cora grew upset, there was a chance the crew would feel it and it would be a detriment to their focus in getting Harrison. And it also…bothered him.

He couldn't imagine anything Cora could have done to Spock that would make the man act that way towards her. True, he couldn't tell when Spock was acting 'sweet' to her as she would say or compliment her, all he really heard when the man talked was 'meh, meh, meh' and something about rules. But even _he_ could tell Spock wasn't acting normally, that he was even more closed off and more stoic than normal. And he knew, for an Empathic who thrived on emotion, that was going to hurt Cora. Yeah, he'd sort of hit on her when he'd first met her, but now…she was like a little sister to him, one he felt more inclined to protect after discovering that brief bout of pain she'd hit him with when they'd gone to stop Nero had been a_ fraction _of what she had endured throughout her life. To suffer that much and still be kind…he felt like he _had_ to protect her.

Even if he had to do so against Spock as well.

"Captain Kirk," Cora glanced at Kirk after a long moment of Spock remaining rigid and focused forward and silent, "Many thanks, for requesting Spock be reinstated."

Kirk smiled at her for saying what he was sure Spock was thinking, "You're welcome…" he trailed off, glancing back as McCoy tried to scan him with a portable medical scanner.

"As I am again your First Officer," Spock spoke, "It is now my duty to strongly object our mission perimeters."

"Of course it is," Kirk rolled his eyes.

"There is no Starfleet regulation that condemns a man to die without a trial, something you and Admiral Marcus are forgetting," Spock finally looked over at him, though he seemed to be avoiding Cora's gaze, "Also, preventively firing torpedoes at the Klingon Homeworld…"

"You yourself said that the area is uninhabited," Kirk cut in, "There is going to be only one casualty. And, in case you weren't listening, our orders have nothing do with Starfleet regulations."

"Wait a minute, we're firing torpedoes at the _Klingons_?!" McCoy stared at them.

"As per orders given by Admiral Marcus," Cora nodded, solemn.

"Regulations aside, this action is morally wrong," Spock argued.

"Regulations aside, pulling your ass out of a volcano was morally _right_," Kirk reminded him, "And I didn't win any points for that."

"Jim, calm down," McCoy glanced at the scanner as it spiked.

"I'm not going to take ethics lessons from a robot!" Kirk remarked…McCoy only put the scanner on Kirk's face as a result.

"A little help here Red?" McCoy glanced at Cora.

Cora reached out and gently placed a hand on Kirk's arm, knowing that her usual method of simply sending him calm would need a boost that came with physical touch. McCoy grinned as the readings started to fall back to normal range, "Thanks," he smirked, "Any chance of getting him to agree to be examined?" he asked.

"Don't," Kirk pointed at her and Cora held up her hands in surrender.

"Resorting to name calling suggests that you are defensive and, therefore, find my opinion valid," Spock cut in, feeling an…irrational need to have the men STOP staring at his mate.

It was the captain and McCoy, they were two men he had come to know quite well, two men he knew had no intentions with Cora but…she'd_ touched _him. Cora had touched Kirk. She'd touched his arm and all he had been able to see was her hand on another man. It was small, it was brief, and he knew it was only to direct her abilities more, but…it wasn't helping. He tried to rationalize it, tried to push THAT to the front of his mind, but it just kept getting pushed back.

The Pon Farr was starting to grow stronger despite his efforts at meditation. Being half human had meant he hadn't been able to focus as much on pushing past the instincts and urges and now…he was running out of options. What could he do if meditation failed? Kill someone? No. Metaphorically back Cora into a corner? _Never_. So what was there that he could possibly do?! He was starting to get angry, frustrated with his lack of ability to focus, with the entire situation in general. His body could not have come up with a worse time to subject him to the Pon Farr than right now.

Especially right at that moment to spike in him. He was sitting in a small shuttle, a small space, with Cora right beside him, so close he could feel her warmth radiating off her, he could smell her scent, he could see her clearer than anything. He was trying his hardest to not look at her because he knew if he did he wouldn't be able to easily look away. Even now his gaze had drifted to her, to her hand when she'd touched Kirk. He'd felt his blood boil even though he knew the touch was completely platonic and professional in nature.

His mate was touching another man.

HE should be the only one she touched!

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shake that thought away from him. It was angry and possessive and all it made him want to do was grab Cora's hands and hold them so she couldn't touch anyone else. It made him want to force the other men out of the room or take Cora with him into a back space and that would be worse. No…as much as he loathed it, he NEEDED the men there. He needed them there, their eyes on him, their attention directed at him, to keep him focused on not doing anything with Cora. The more they watched him, the more self-conscious he would be, the more aware that no matter how badly he wanted to be closer to Cora, he had to maintain his typical and normal spacing. He needed them to watch him so that he wouldn't touch her so they wouldn't see.

Anything out of the norm for him would clue the men off and…he HAD to be on the Enterprise, he had to be allowed to keep his position as First Officer, to keep Kirk from making mistakes. If it came about that he was clearly starting to be emotionally compromised…he might not be taken seriously, and he NEEDED Kirk to listen to him, to heed his warnings. He had to appear normal…even if that was the furthest thing he felt. He felt warm, like he was on fire, his mind starting to cloud , leaving him feeling like he was trying to make his way through a fog, his thoughts distracted, and his skin…it felt like it was tingling…no, electrified whenever Cora touched him. And it was just getting worse. He had to make sure that the crew and Kirk were safe before he made them aware of something wrong with him.

And right now…it meant trying his hardest to act normally around them, as normally as he could around Cora.

"I wasn't asking for your opinion," Kirk countered, "Bones, get that thing off my face!" he shoved the scanner away that was pressed to his cheek.

"Captain Kirk," Cora began delicately, "I must agree with Spock," she continued, not looking back at the Vulcan, not seeing him turn his gaze on her for the first time in quite a while, "This…mission. It could, and will, start a war with the Klingons. War is...not something to be entered into lightly. Empathics are _forbidden_ to war," unless the Mas'heirs forced them into an army once more, "I…am not sure how much of an asset I can be in such a situation."

"Perhaps," Spock added, "You should take the requisite time to arrive at this conclusion for yourself."

Before Kirk could even speak a woman with short blonde hair in a blue Starfleet uniform stepped up to them, "Captain Kirk. Science officer Wallace. I've been assigned to Enterprise by Admiral Marcus. These are my transfer orders," she handed him the papers in her hand.

Spock stiffened even more, looking at Kirk with a bit of…what Cora would say was anger in his eyes, "You requested an additional science officer, Captain?"

Cora frowned, hearing the anger in his voice, something he seemed to hear as well as he swallowed hard, his jaw tensing like she knew he did when he was trying to keep his emotions under control. But why would he be angry with Wallace, the woman had just stepped over. She was starting to move past concern that he was regretting mating with her and more into concern for him in general. She could see it now, he wasn't acting oddly to JUST her…like she'd feared…but to everyone in general. He couldn't be regretting their bonds if he was acting the same with her as with everyone else.

So what was wrong?

She sighed, she wanted to bring it up, but she knew that, to do so in such a place, with the Captain and medical officer right there would NOT be something Spock would appreciate. Whatever it was that was bothering him, he was trying hard to cover it up. She kept getting flashes of emotion from him before he'd bury it and rein it in, replacing it with his usual calm…but even that felt strained. If she brought it up now, it would concern Kirk and McCoy and they'd want tests and Spock would be not very happy that it was happening. No, this was a private matter that she really needed to speak with him about in private she knew.

But at least she could take comfort in the fact that it wasn't HER he was upset with, it was everyone for some reason.

Now she just had to think of a way to help him. Without knowing exactly what he was feeling or why…trying to influence his emotions could make it worse and, if he was THAT aware of his own feelings that he could bury them and restrain them so quickly, he would certainly notice if she tried anything, and she didn't want to risk upsetting him till she could talk to him.

"I wish I had," Kirk sent a charming smile at Wallace before glancing at her file, "Lieutenant Carol Wallace, doctor in Applied Physics, specializing in advanced weaponry…"

"Impressive credentials," Spock remarked.

"Thank you," Wallace smiled.

"But redundant now that I am back onboard the Enterprise."

"And yet, the more than merrier," Kirk smirked at him before gesturing to the seats, "Have a seat, doctor."

"Thank you," Wallace smiled, before moving to sit in the row behind him, beside McCoy.

"Shuttle crew standby for lift off," the pilot called as the shuttle took off, ready to take them back to the Enterprise.

~8~

Cora winced as she stepped out of the shuttle into the Engineering Room of the Enterprise, "You ok Red?" McCoy asked, noticing it.

"I am fine," she nodded, "But…um…Montgomery Scott is rather angry," she warned them.

Kirk sighed, taking the lead out of the shuttle and over to Scotty as Cora, McCoy, and Spock stood there, looking around. Spock stiffened though when he spotted Uhura making her way to the turbolift and headed in that direction, Cora glancing over and watching him…essentially stalk away.

"Everything alright with you two?" McCoy asked her as Kirk angrily began to speak with Scotty.

"I…do not know," she admitted, watching him step into the lift with Uhura, the doors shutting. She sighed, before heading over to Kirk, seeing the two men starting to have words, able to feel each of their frustrations from where she was and wanting to try and avoid a conflict…only to stop short.

She frowned, stiffening and looked over at one of the torpedoes that had been brought in, one of 72 in total, something she felt was a bit much to fire at 1 person, but…there was something…not quite right. She turned to one, moving to stand before it as it sat there, reaching out a hand to gently place it on the casing, frowning as she let out a breath, looking at the torpedo in confusion. It…didn't feel like a torpedo…not that she really knew what a torpedo felt like, but this…this was NOT normal, she could tell.

There was something…

"Everything alright?" Wallace asked, moving beside her as she stared at the torpedoes.

Cora just took a step back, looking over her shoulder, slowly turning in a circle as she eyed the room full of the torpedoes, there was something wrong with ALL of t hem. But what?

"I…am well," Cora supplied as an answer, before spotting Kirk seeming to e finished speaking with Scotty, "Please excuse me," she offered to Wallace, before heading over to Kirk…

~8~

"Spock," Uhura greeted when she saw the Vulcan entire the turbolift with her, she frowned though seeing his tense expression, "Is everything alright?"

She was…torn between asking that and keeping her self-imposed vow of silence that she had made on Cora's behalf to express the anger she felt at what Spock had done. She and Cora had become…friends over the last few months, she…hoped that Cora could sense her genuine regret for how she'd treated her in the Academy and how much she was trying to prove herself as a good friend. But…she saw how upset Cora was when they'd been in the Bridge, when Spock had refused to leave the volcano, she'd seen the genuine_ fear_ in Cora's eyes, how upset she'd been and…she was angry at Spock for it.

She was angry that the man was so unaware of how Cora felt. She knew Vulcans were stoic for the most part, it made her wonder how she would ever have been able to endure a relationship with him like she'd wanted for so long. She understood why Cora could be with him, she got it. She did. How the girl could feel Spock's emotions without actually needing him to express them. He was…comfortable around her and she saw it, she'd spent so much time watching him she smacked herself in not realizing what she had been seeing. All the little gestures and moves that Spock made around Cora…she could see that he'd loved her, he wouldn't have taken her as mate if he hadn't.

And for him to stand in that volcano and be so ready to die, even if it was for a good cause…he KNEW what the consequences could be for Cora if he died. He could have been condemning her to die through the empathetic bond she had with him. He would have cost her a friend, the crew a family member, and the Fleet an inordinately valued tool (as much as she hated to think of Cora that way). He should have logically considered that and how much value HE was to them all as well. Yet he hadn't.

So she was angry, yes, but...she could see something in him, that something was wrong and…she could see Cora's expression before she entered the lift, easier to read than Spock. The girl was worried too, and it was her duty as a friend to do what she could to help.

"What were you speaking to Cora about?" he half-demanded of her, not answering her question.

"When?" she shook her head, "We talk a lot."

"I am aware," he muttered, sounding…displeased about it, "Before we met with Captain Pike, you took Cora to the side, you spoke to her, what did you say?!"

Uhura blinked at how he'd almost sounded like he was…_yelling_ at her just then, "I wanted to make sure she was alright, given what you were planning to do."

His jaw tensed as he turned to her, Uhura stepping back when she saw him…glaring, actually _glaring_ at her, "Did you not also question the strength of our connection?" he took a step towards her, "Question my concern for her?"

"Yes," she admitted, knowing that Cora had to have told him about what she'd said for him to be asking that, that he already knew and lying would get her nowhere, "I did but you can't blame me. You…"

"In the future," he cut in, "You will refrain from making comments on my relationship with Cora."

"Oh will I?" she glared back, "Cora's my friend and…"

"And she is my MATE," he snapped, Uhura falling quiet at the shout, the true shout he had given just then, she had never heard him raise his voice before, "She is MY mate, Lieutenant, and you will _stay away_ from her."

"…are you alright Commander?" she asked, seeing him starting to breathe heavily, seeing a sort of…storm gathering in his eyes, something…was _wrong_, she didn't need to be Cora to know that something was wrong with him. He wasn't acting like himself.

"My wellbeing is of no concern to you," he nearly sneered the last word, "It will garner you no favor with me. And if you still retain the hopes of some sort of relationship developing…"

"I don't," this time it was _her_ turn to cut in, "I'm just worried about you as a friend."

"Refrain," he ordered her, "I do not care for your concern."

Uhura's lips pursed, "Fine," she spat, shoving past him as the turbolift started to slow, nearing the floor…or at least she was trying to.

He reached out and grabbed her arm tightly in his hand, "You _will _stay away from Cora," he told her, his voice low, Uhura able to hear a dangerous note in it, a threatening one, "You will cease whispering in her ear. Is that understood Lieutenant?"

"You're hurting me," she told him, trying to pull her arm back, but he refused.

"Do you understand?!" he nearly shouted again.

"Yes, fine," she gave in, Spock letting go of her arm as she yanked it away.

He didn't even bother to apologize, or even comment on it in a slightly apologetic way as he strode past her and into the Bridge.

Uhura stood there a while longer, rubbing her arm, staring into the Bridge at Spock. That was…not like him at all. Vulcans didn't touch often, he wouldn't have _grabbed_ her like that. She took a breath though and stepped out, knowing that something was wrong with the man for sure now, knowing she needed to bring it up to the Captain. If Spock reacted that way to her just _talking_ to Cora…how would he react to others, to men, to Chekov when he hugged her or Kirk when he teased her?

She moved to her post, sitting down but keeping her eye on Spock as he sat at his own post, rigid, his eyes closed as though focusing on something.

He knew that he had been…wrong…to do that to her, to grab her and essentially threaten her. But…she was threatening his relationship with Cora! She was whispering in his mate's ear, telling her he did not care for her, telling her he was selfish, and he could only imagine what else. And he would NOT have that, he would not let anyone come between him and Cora. She was HIS mate. _His_!

He winced at those thoughts, shaking his head fiercely to shake them out of his head. It was that line of thinking that would lead to him attempting to settle the Pon Farr in a method he was desperately trying to avoid. He didn't want to do that to Cora, to force her into that situation. But it was getting harder to keep away from her. Every little gesture others made to her made him tense and stiffen and made his heart stop for a moment, his blood run cold before he felt an anger set in. Small things…a touch, a joke, a tease, a look, from anyone else at HIS mate was nearly…setting him off. He did not want it to reach the point where he would grab her hand and pull her way from all the other eyes that were taking her in.

He closed his eyes tightly, taking a deep breath, trying to focus once more before Kirk arrived on meditating as deeply and as quickly as he could, trying to push the effects of the Pon Farr away for the moment.

And he knew he was failing.

~8~

"How are you Cor?" Kirk asked as he and Cora got in the turbolift, heading up to the Bridge. It was…odd for the two of them to be there alone, without Spock. The Vulcan rarely ever left his mate's side and Cora didn't seem to like being without him either, especially not if her reaction to Spock's short reassignment was anything to go by.

"I am well," she nodded, "How are you James T. Kirk?" she asked, trying to be 'less formal' as he often insisted she be when it was just them with a few select members of the crew.

Kirk rolled his eyes, "Cora I've told you a thousand times, it's Jim or…"

"Captain Kirk," she amended.

He sighed, shaking his head fondly at her, it was…oddly nice to have someone respect him as much as Cora did, and even though he knew it was slightly to do with how she'd been raised by the Mas'heirs to believe all others were superior to her, he knew it was a larger part her natural respect for him and all he'd done as Captain.

"One day Cor," he muttered, "One day I'll get you to call me Jim."

She gave him a small smile, "We shall see Captain Kirk."

He let out a little laugh, before glancing at her again, "But really…are you alright? Are…you and Spock?"

"We are well," she agreed, "Better now for not being separated."

Though she wasn't sure how much that was true any longer. Spock had been…distant recently, ever since Pike had died, she knew he'd mind-melded the man to experience him dying but she'd interfered…ever since that night he'd been different. She was hoping it wasn't what she'd done, comforting Pike as he as dying that had set him off against her and everyone else. She didn't think it was, he'd seemed…almost relieved when he'd felt Pike's emotions changing from hurt and fear and loneliness to calm and peace and comfort. She just…didn't know why he was pulling away from her.

"Are you well Captain Kirk?" she repeated.

"Fine," he answered shortly…till he noticed her look and sighed, "Right, genius move Kirk, lie to the human lie detector."

"I can determine the falsehoods of a number of other species…" she began.

"It's a figure of speech," he cut in, "Alright," he rubbed his head, knowing that there was no one better to discuss his frustrations and emotions with than an Empathic, "Actually, Scotty just quit and your boyfriend's second guessing me every chance he gets," he sighed, "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate. It's just…sometimes I want to rip those pointy things off his head. Hell maybe it's me…"

"It is just you," Cora nodded.

He let out a laugh, "Because you don't hurt people."

She blinked, "Because his ears are, I believe the human term is, cute."

Kirk really laughed at that, at hearing 'cute' and a reference to Spock in the same sentence, "Whatever you say Cor," he shook his head, frowning when he saw her look back at the doors as they opened, revealing Spock at his post, and Cora's expression saddened only slightly, more to concern than actual sadness, "Cor…are you _really _ok or were you lying to me?"

"Empathics cannot lie," she reminded him.

He shook his head at how much she and Spock were alike, before clarifying, "Then did you just…let me assume?" he eyed her as she was silent, "Cora…are you guys fighting?"

"I do not wish to speak of such a private matter Captain Kirk," she began, "But I do not believe so."

"How do you not 'believe so?' Wouldn't you know?"

"We are not fighting as you humans would describe it, with yelling and arguing and physicality. We are…" she shook her head, "I am not certain there is a word for it."

He nodded, knowing that neither she nor Spock really understood emotions and relationships and how they tended to work what with Spock being Vulcan and Cora having been raised in a world where her 'partner' was chosen for her and her life would have been nothing but childbirth for years on end. All he could think of, logically as Spock would want him to think, was that something had to have happened about the volcano that was upsetting both sides and keeping them from actively speaking about it, despite them being on good terms with each other, he knew that if they didn't talk soon that it would just build up and get to them later.

"If you need anything," he told her, "You can come to me."

"Nyota Uhura has been helping me," she reassured him.

"Still," he looked her in the eye, "Anything you need Cor, I'll try to help you."

She nodded, smiling, "Thank you James T. Kirk," before she walked off to take her seat beside the doors.

"It's JIM!" he called after her.

"Captain on ze Bridge!" Chekov announced, just noticing he was there from his shout to Cora.

"Captain," Sulu greeted.

"Mr. Chekov," he walked over to the boy, "You've been shadowing Mr. Scott, you are familiar with Engineering systems of this ship?"

"Affirmative, sir," Chekov nodded.

"Good. You're my new chief, go put on the red shirt."

Chekov froze at that, he knew what the red shirt meant, there was a sort of 'curse' to it that the red shirted members were always the first to find themselves in danger or…dead. He swallowed hard, "Aye, Captain."

"Retract all moorings, Mr. Sulu," Kirk ordered a few minutes after Chekov left.

"Yes, sir," Sulu nodded, doing just that.

"Lieutenant Uhura, open the ship wide channel."

"Yes, sir," she nodded at him, opening the channel.

"Mr. Chekov, how are we looking down there?" he called into the comm., sitting down in the captain's chair, knowing Chekov had gotten down there by then.

"All systems nominal, Captain," the boy replied.

"Copy that."

"Warp available at your command."

"Thank you, Mr. Chekov. Alright, let's ride," he nodded at Sulu.

"Yes, sir," Sulu punched it, sending them into warp.

Kirk leaned over, glancing at Cora and Spock, when Uhura spoke and pulled his attention back, "Channel open, sir."

He nodded his thanks, and began to broadcast over the ship, "Attention, crew of the Enterprise. As most of you know, Christopher Pike, former captain of this ship and our friend, is dead. The man who killed him has fled our system and is hiding in the Klingon homeworld. Somewhere he believes we are unwilling to go. We are on our way there now. Per Admiral Marcus it is essential that our presence go undetected. Tensions between the Federation and the Klingon Empire have been high, any provocation could lead to all out war," he paused, letting it sink in as he turned to look at Spock on his one side, before glancing at Cora on his other side, seeing both their expressions, Spock stoic as ever, Cora's…concerned and…he just couldn't do it, "I will personally lead a landing party to an abandoned city on the surface of Kronos. There we will capture the fugitive, John Harrison, and return him to Earth so he can face judgment for his actions," he decided, "Alright, let's go get this son of a bitch. Kirk out."

"Thank you Captain Kirk," he heard Cora call as he turned to look at her, smiling and nodding at her.

"Captain," Spock stood suddenly, "I believe you have made the right decision. If I can be of assistance, I would be happy to accompany you on the away team."

Cora frowned and looked at him, he…hadn't made any mention of her, unlike when they'd gone to face Nero, he had requested she come and…she felt like this would be something they would need her for, yet he was refusing to say anything.

"You? Happy?" Kirk scoffed.

"It is an expression," Cora shot back at Kirk, making the man laugh at hearing his worn words reflected back at him.

Spock nodded, "Cora is correct. I was simply attempting to use your vernacular to convey an idea."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock," Kirk nodded, "Cora, you're coming too," he pointed at her.

"Is that necessary Captain?" Spock frowned, Cora seeing his hands tightening into fists beside him.

"Very," Kirk told him, the tone of his voice leaving no argument.

Spock's jaw clenched as he stared Kirk down a moment, before he glanced at Cora, seeing her watching him, her teal eyes boring into his own. He blinked and turned abruptly, making his way out of the Bridge.

"Spock," Cora reached out to touch his arm as he passed her, feeling him stiffen under her touch, "Are you alright?"

He gave her a short nod, "I am perfectly fine," he said, his voice tense as he stepped out of the room.

"Cora?" Kirk frowned, seeing her watching the Vulcan go with concern etched on her face.

But Cora was silent, unsure of whether she should tell Kirk that Spock wasn't speaking the entire truth…or feel even more alarmed that Spock had not told HER the entire truth.

~8~

Spock strode through Engineering, having had to get out of the Bridge, he just…couldn't be there any longer, not with Cora right there, not while knowing she was concerned for him and would try to comfort him. He violently pushed down the illogical thoughts of how he'd left her on the Bridge surrounded by other men, NOT wanting to think that or think of that, because logically he knew that Kirk and McCoy and the others were _never_ going to do something like that to him or Cora and trying with all his might to focus on that and to remain logical.

He needed a distraction though, he'd needed to work out something, _anything_, to keep his mind off Cora. Her touch had nearly sent him over the edge, it had actually made his mind go blank for a second or two, made him lose his breath at the touch of his mate…he swallowed hard. The Pon Farr was setting in more quickly than he anticipated. He was trying though, to focus, to meditate any chance he got…but there was too little time for it.

At the moment he still possessed enough rational thought to know he did not want to harm any member of the crew, he did not want the Pon Farr to lead to combat to the death, to work out that aggression building in him. Equally he still retained the sense of mind to know he did not want to lead Cora into feeling an obligation to be with him, that what should be, for her people, a sacred melding of two people had to be rushed or forced.

She had respected him, she had opened herself up to allow him into her mind, something he and his culture required of a mate. He would NOT take this from her. He would not force her into something like that to take out his…passions in another way beside combat. He knew she was not ready, the breeding programs, experiencing and remembering the sense of her mother dying when she'd just been born because of the programs, had left a scar on her. He did not want to rush her, he did not want to force her, he respected and cherished her too much to do that to her…

But it was hard, the Vulcan instinct in him was leading him and pushing him to complete their mating in a physical sense. Vulcans could 'be with' their mate whenever they wanted, it wasn't that ever seven years they would be with their mate, it was just that every seven years the HAD to be with them. He wanted to complete and solidify the mating with Cora on his own, of his own free will and not because some illogical and disturbing biological instinct was forcing him to. So he refrained, he pushed against it, he fought…

But in so doing it just built the feelings up even more. He tried not to look at her, he tried not to touch her, he tried (vainly) not to think of her…because it just made him want her more. And the more he pushed the feelings away, the more they built up and the more he fought…the less his logical mind could focus on other things. He was putting so much effort into not forcing Cora's hand or allowing himself to build up more with her that he wasn't able to keep his mind or body from doing the same with others. He was growing angry, angrier and angrier at everyone. At the men for looking at Cora, at the Captain for not listening to him and getting Cora into dangerous situations, at the women even…he was just angry.

And it was affecting him.

Intense meditation could be used to overcome the Pon Farr, but he had neither the time nor the space nor the…focus to do so. No matter how Vulcan he was, his human half was still present, it made it harder for him to truly focus _that _deeply on meditation. So he was doing all he could to work out some way around it, some way that would allow him to not harm a crew member nor harm Cora…

It was hard though because Cora was just…everything to him. She had become the focal point in his life, the one being in all the Universe who understood him without question, who knew his soul so intimately she could tell from a single glance, not even needing to feel his emotions, when something as bothering him. Her heart, her concern, her empathy, her spirit were the most beautiful things he'd ever seen and…she was beautiful as well. Her red hair, her teal eyes, her pale skin, her lips that were so soft they made even his Vulcan half accept that to kiss her was an enjoyable experience…

He closed his eye slightly, shaking his head as though to push the thoughts away.

This was NOT helping him at all.

He opened his eyes and spotted Wallace standing before one of the torpedoes that Marcus had had shipped to the Enterprise, one he was unaware that Cora had been focused on earlier, and saw it, a distraction. He stalked over to her as she scanned one of the weapons, just standing there waiting for her to notice him…

A/N: Oh Spock, try all you want, you won't escape Pon Farr }:) But yay, Cora's realizing that it's everyone getting to him and not just her, and it's definitely not just her noticing ;)

I hope Spock doesn't seem too OOC considering Pon Farr. I figure if, in the original series, he could throw a plate at a woman and scare her into fleeing his room as he shouted at her and threaten to snap McCoy's neck for trying to give him an examination, that threatening Uhura isn't too far off :)

Some notes on reviews...

Yup, Loki/OC :) And a separate Thor/OC planned, but Loki will be up on the 22nd ;) I've got a tentative set of covers and a sneak peek introducing the OC on my tumblr (link on my profile) on my 'Upcoming Stories' page if you're interested :)

That was definitely a little intentional to end the last chapter with a hint of Angel, because I wanted to show that Cora, through knowing Spock, is more rational in this chapter where she works it out that it's NOT her and it's not him regretting anything since he's acting out of sorts with everyone ;)

Lol, you're welcome :) I'll admit I attempted to write something once, a lemon-esque thing, and it just came out really weird and awkward and made me realize as I was writing that it was like that because I just didn't want to write a moment that should be so private for everyone to read :) So no smut from me :) We might get lead ups to moments or suggestive scenes but nothing graphic and nothing of them actually doing the deeds. I think the most I've come was someone taking a shirt off or two people starting to kiss on the beach and then...cut to the next scene lol :)

I'm glad you liked WWTW :) I think I'd do a crossover for Cora and Kirk's OC just to see Spock's reaction to the other Spock with Uhura :) Yup, Loki's next and it'll follow Thor, then the Avengers, then Thor 2 ;) I saw Thor 2 online, bit bad quality, but I thought it was great :) I won't say anything about the assumptions though, I can say that there'll be something in chapter ... that might answer it ;)

Circular thinking for Spock lol, quite illogical ;) That's definitely going to be a big thing that, the more Pon Farr sets in the less rational he becomes to the point where he'll be missing a lot :)

Awww thanks! I'm glad the stories are able to brighten up your day a little :)

Oh I LOVE Firefly/Serenity :) I was River Tam once for Halloween in High School a la the Safe episode :) And I've got a Mal/OC story outlined too ;) And thanks :) Lol, I've probably just lost my mind and have started to see the OCs as real people so I can't really bring myself to write M-rated things for them. It's like they live in my head and I've got about...15 OCs in there at the moment so that would be a bit awkward for them too lol :)


	8. Klingons

Klingons

"Spock!" Wallace gasped when she looked over to see the Vulcan standing there, watching her, "You startled me."

"What are you doing, doctor?" he demanded.

"Verifying that the torpedoes..."

"You misunderstand," he cut in, feeling irritation at how she wasn't understanding what he said when he spoke, Cora always did, she always knew what he was saying or meaning to say, half the time he didn't even have to speak to get the point of his thoughts across to her, "What are you doing onboard this ship?" he continued, pushing Cora from his mind, or trying to, it seemed the thought of her had become rather deep rooted, "There is no record of you being assigned to the Enterprise."

"Really?" she smiled, as though trying to remain calm, even he could see the strain in it without Cora there to point it out.

She had begun to teach him small things about emotions, about reading and realizing them in others. Instead of going for the larger traits, the ones that anyone could see, the ones that didn't interest him, she had taken a different attempt, pointing out the smaller aspects, the more minute details, appealing to his Vulcan nature of gathering all the data necessary. She had begun to teach him of small 'tells' that others would give during their emotional moments, when they lied or were hiding something. Dr. Wallace was clearly doing both.

"That must be some sort of mistake."

"My conclusion as well, Dr. _Marcus_," he used her TRUE name at that point, seeing her expression fall, seeing her realize that he knew exactly who she was, "Except that you have lied about your identity. Wallace is the surname of your mother. I can only assume the Admiral is your father."

"Mr. Spock," 'Wallace' began, taking a step towards him though he stepped back, something inside him not wanting any woman to be too close to him, any woman who wasn't Cora, which was not helping him in distracting himself from thinking of her if all he wanted was her to be closer to him even when she wasn't there. He felt his jaw tense at that, this was supposed to be a distraction, not a reminder of Cora, "I'm aware that I have no right to ask this of you, but please…he cannot know that I'm here…"

Before she could continue her pleas, the ship jolted with a violent move, sending them all crashing to the sides and the ground as the ship seemed to fall out of warp.

Spock was on his feet and running for the turbolift the moment it stilled, his mind racing back to Cora, to how he hadn't been there with his mate, how she could have been injured on the Bridge, and rushing to check, a drive pushing him to ensure she was alright…

~8~

"Engineering manually dropped us out of warp, sir!" Sulu reported to Kirk as they all jolted on the Bridge.

Kirk ran over from where he was helping Cora off the ground where she'd fallen to turn the comm. on, "Mr. Chekov, did you break my ship?!"

"Sorry, sir," Chekov came over, "I don't know what happened. Ze core owerheated I had to actiwate ze emergency stop. It must be a cooling leak, I need time to find it. Sorry, Captain."

"Damn it," he sighed, glancing at Cora, "You alright?" he asked, knowing Spock, given his new...tenser...personality would likely _really_ kill him if something had happened to her under his watch.

"I am well," she nodded.

"Mr. Sulu, time to our destination?"

"20 minutes, sir," Sulu called, "That's 20 minutes in enemy space that we weren't counting on."

"Alright," Kirk rubbed his head, feeling tired and overwhelmed…until he felt a hand on his arm and felt calmer, stronger. He looked over to see Cora beside him and put a hand over hers on his arm, smiling at her in thanks before addressing the crew, "We better hop to it. Where's Spock?"

"Here, Captain," Spock entered the Bridge, stopping when he saw Kirk's hand on Cora's, feeling a sense of…_anger_ rising in him again, "Remove your hand Captain," he said, a tense note to his voice as he appeared to glare at Kirk's hand, at the hand of a man who was touching his mate, a possessive and dangerous tone in his voice as all his instincts told him to shove the man away, to rip his arm off if needed, to ensure he _never_ touched his mate again…but this was the Captain, this was his…friend.

Kirk pulled his hand away and held them both up in surrender before pointing at him, "You're coming with me to Kronos. Lieutenant," he glanced over at Uhura, "How's your Klingon?"

Uhura turned around as he looked at her, "It's rusty but it's good."

"Good, you're coming too," he nodded, "You as well Cora."

Just as Cora nodded, feeling a bit…better about going on missions lately after having some more experience with them, Spock stepped up, "I must request that Cora stay here Captain," Spock stated.

"And why is that Mr. Spock?" Kirk rolled his eyes, before gesturing at them, "I thought you weren't in a fight?" he asked Cora, "Is it going to be a problem or something?" he turned to Spock, "You two working together?"

"It should not be," Cora said, though she frowned at Spock, a hint of hurt in her voice at how he seemed to not want her to go with them.

She knew it could not be about the danger they might face, because she'd faced down Romulans before, she'd been in other dangerous situations and he had never requested she stay behind, he merely…requested of the captain that he take precautions and protect her, but he understood a captain's order. Half the time HE was the one pushing Kirk to let her go on the missions. Every time he would tell her it was another way to grow stronger, to grow more sure of herself and her abilities and her value to Starfleet and the Enterprise. And he was right, each time she faced down a new mission or a new enemy and helped her crew she felt...better, stronger. She felt a little bit more confident. She knew it was something he had spent the last few years doing, building that up in her, brushing off the lingering thoughts of her slavery and reminding her she was free now.

Even when he didn't request she go, when he was concerned for her, he would nod and merely ask that she be cared for...if HE wasn't going with her. But he had not mentioned anything of the sort this time…which led her to believe he just…did not want her to go with them for some reason, perhaps...that he didn't wish her to go with HIM.

But that made no sense, he had raced to the Bridge, she could feel him coming, feel his concern for her, his relief at seeing her alright, so she knew that it wasn't anger or something else keeping him wanting her to go. It was...concern, she could feel that, but it wasn't the normal concern she would associate with something like this. She would have thought it wold be concern for her being around Klingons, possibly, but this...felt more like he was concerned for her...being around HIM.

But why?

"Unclear," Spock countered.

He…was unsure of this. He did NOT want her to go but not for the reason most would assume. He rarely ever feared for Cora's life or her safety. He was one of the few who knew entirely what she was capable of. He knew she could, and would, defend herself in the direst of situations, he trusted her, he knew how strong she was…he was…unsure of his own strength. His strength of will.

He did not know how he would endure being in a small shuttle with Cora, with her being so near and him so…weak willed at the moment. He hadn't even realized he was running for the Bridge till he'd run through the doors to see her alright and unharmed. He couldn't remember the run there either. One moment he'd been speaking to Wallace, the next threatening the captain on the Bridge. He knew it was the Pon Farr, driving him to be closer to his mate as he did have one, and he was clearly failing to push it away. He truly did not know what would come of being with her in such a small shuttle.

"Well get over it," Kirk told him, "I'll meet you three in the shuttle bay."

Cora glanced at Spock and Uhura, the woman glaring at Spock, Spock rigid as ever though she felt…unease coming off him. She turned though to follow them out, leaving Kirk to speak with McCoy and Sulu about their plan of attack.

They had just reached the turbolift when they heard Sulu, who Kirk must have left in charge, coming over the comm., "Acting Captain Sulu to shuttle-bay 2. Please have the trade ship we confiscated during the mud incident last month fuelled and flight ready. Captain Kirk is on route to you right now."

~8~

Kirk walked through the hanger of the Enterprise with Spock, Cora, and Uhura behind him, all of them dressed in darker clothes, more like intergalactic traders than Starfleet, following him to the small shuttle they would be taking right down to the Klingon Homeworld of Kronos.

"Ready to deploy, Captain," one of the two men who stood before the shuttle reported.

"Lieutenants lose the red shirts," Kirk ordered, eyeing their Fleet uniforms, "You are Khormien arms dealers, put those on."

"Sir?" a second man asked as Uhura handed them their new outfits.

"Look, if this thing goes south, there can be nothing tying us to Starfleet. Unless of course you want to start a war, Mr. Hendor?"

"No, sir," the second man nodded.

"No, sir," the first agreed.

"Good, me neither," Kirk stepped past them and into the ship, Uhura following him with the two men.

"Spock," Cora reached out and gently placed a hand on his arm as he moved to go in with them. She frowned, feeling him stiffen under her touch more than he did on the Bridge, "Are…are you alright?" she asked, feeling like she was turning into a broken record as the humans would say but...she knew he wasn't giving her a completely honest answer and she really just wanted to know.

He'd been different, distant, distracted, it was starting to worry her quite a lot. Because that was completely unlike him. He was working harder than ever to bury his emotions and hide them from her and it was alarming her. He didn't even answer, just gave her a short nod, his arm tensing again till she let go. She frowned, seeing him seem to breathe a sigh of relief when she let go of him.

"If…if something is wrong," she moved to stand in front of him as she passed him, "You _can_ talk to me about it," she reminded him, looking up at him, feeling herself smile when he at least looked at her.

But all he gave her was another short nod. He watched her sigh and turn to enter the shuttle, feeling his heart constrict painfully in his chest at the sight of her turning away from him, seeing Uhura within glaring at him as she looked between them before she turned around. He let out another breath as he closed his eyes a moment.

This was…not good at all. Cora's touch, even through layers of fabric, had been warm, burning even, it had made him feel like he was inflamed, like he was on fire in the most enjoyable way…which was not proper. His mind had clouded the moment she'd touched him and he couldn't speak both from not being able to form a coherent word and for fear of what he might say or how it might sound. He was trying harder than ever not to give away anything to her but it appeared he was failing.

He opened his eyes, glancing around to see no one was observing him before he moved his arms from behind him to before him, reaching out his one hand to rest where Cora had touched him…only to notice that his hands were shaking again, a sign of Pon Farr. He had taken to standing as stiffly as he could, his hands clasped behind him, tightly held in each other so as not to give away that fact, the shaking, especially in him, was bound to alert someone that something was wrong. McCoy wouldn't think to check his medical records from when he'd nearly been assigned to the other ship, the medical records there would be stored and kept there for that ship only, no one had any idea what was going on with him.

And that was how he wanted to keep it. The Pon Farr was NOT known to many off-worlders, only really to the medical officer of whatever crew a Vulcan was serving on as a means to prepare them for such an event. But McCoy hadn't had much experience with a Vulcan experiencing Pon Farr, he wouldn't recognize the signs without a medical examination or scan. And that was how he wanted to keep it. It was not something to be talked about, even among his own people it was scarcely brought up except to warn the young of what would happen when it struck.

It was a deeply personal event, a biological one, shielded even among their people in ritual and custom shrouded in antiquity. And that was where he hoped to keep it, in the dark. It was an embarrassing time for a Vulcan, to have logic stripped away, to have primal urges that went so against their teachings and ways of life that…to have so little control of one's self…it was not how they wanted others to see them or ever know they endured. They never wanted other species to know they lost such complete control like this.

He shook his head, hearing the pilots readying the shuttle, and made his way in, sitting on one side of the room, at a set of controls, Cora stationed in the back, in the middle, much like she as on the Enterprise Bridge, where she could see all happening. He knew it wasn't fair to her, to NOT tell her about this, to not talk to her like she'd offered him and reminded him. He knew, logically...he should talk to her. But he also knew that, if he told her...she would want to help him, she would feel obligated to help him. And that wasn't something he wanted, he didn't want to force her into that. He just had to hope that he'd be able to work something out to stop the Pon Farr without harming anyone else.

He looked up when, a moment later, the ship took off and swallowed, trying to breathe through his mouth so as not to smell Cora's scent, something he seemed to be picking up more of since the Pon Farr set in.

~8~

Cora glanced over at Spock as the shuttle flew through Kronos, all of them tense and worried about the Klingons that might be lurking around. She was doing her best to keep them all calm though, and it seemed like she was managing that.

"I am detecting a single life sign in Keth Province," Spock reported, "Given the information provided by Mr. Scott, this is most likely John Harrison."

"Mr. Sulu," Kirk opened the comms., "I think we found our man you let him know you mean business."

"Aye, Captain," Sulu answered, before they heard him give his message, the comms. still open for them, "Attention, John Harrison. This is Captain Hikaru Sulu of the USS Enterprise. A shuttle of highly trained officers is on its way to your location. If you do not surrender to them immediately, I will unleash the entire payload of advanced, long-range torpedoes currently locked on to your location. You have two minutes to confirm your compliance. Refusal do so will result in your obliteration. If you_ test_ me...you will _fail_."

Cora let out a breath, "He is…very good," she told Kirk, the way he spoke was just the right amount of threatening with truth. Granted...they wouldn't unload the torpedoes with THEM on the planet and they were intent to bring him in alive, but Sulu had said it in a way and in a tone where it was very likely that only an Empathic would be able to tell he was lying.

"We will arrive at Harrison's location in three minutes, Captain," Spock added, doing his best to focus on the mission, on the controls before him, "It's unlikely that he will come willingly. I calculate the odds him attempting to kill us at 91.6 percent."

"Fantastic," Kirk muttered, his smile from Cora's words, to hear an Empathic saying Sulu had done well meant that even Harrison would believe the threat, fading.

"Good thing you don't care about dying," Uhura muttered under her breath.

Cora closed her eyes and rubbed her head, just KNOWING what would be coming next despite her many requests that Uhura leave it alone. The girl…really seemed quite determined to prove her friendship and her intentions with her being honorable.

Spock stiffened, "I am sorry, Lieutenant," he began, a hard note in his voice, "I could not hear what you..."

"Nyota Uhura," Cora called, shaking her head at the woman.

Uhura's jaw tensed, "I didn't say anything."

Spock nodded, "You would do well to remember our discussion," he reminded her.

And that was the last straw, Uhura didn't care what the hell was the matter with him, he'd half-threatened her in the turbolift, he'd upset Cora, and now he was acting all 'holier than thou' and she was NOT going to sit there and let him talk like that, "Actually I'd be happy to speak if you're willing listen to me."

"Please…" Cora tried to get in.

"I am not inclined nor am I willing to listen to you," Spock countered, "You did not heed my request, why should I heed yours?"

"Request?" Uhura scoffed, "It was more like an order, Commander."

"An order which you have failed to follow then."

"Could we not do this now?" Cora asked them both, looking between them, she had no idea what request or order had been made but it was upsetting both of them, it was even upsetting Spock and that meant it was something rather big…though she _had_ noticed he appeared to be a bit more…easily upset than normal lately.

"I'm sorry, Cora," Uhura glanced at her, before turning to the Captain, "Captain?"

"By all means," Kirk gestured them to get it over with, he could tell Uhura was going to say what they'd all been thinking of saying to the pointy-eared man since it happened.

Uhura nodded and returned her attention to Spock, "At that volcano you didn't give a thought to Cora. What it would do to her if you died, did you? You didn't feel anything. You didn't care. And I am NOT only one who's upset with you, the Captain is too."

"And Bones, and Chekov, and Scotty, and…"

"You have made your point, Captain," Spock cut in, he was well aware of the relationship that Cora had formed with the men of the crew, she had become like family to them, like a little sister of sorts that they could go to for their problems and that looked out for her. It was a relationship he was finding difficult to accept at the current moment, but he did know how much the crew cared for her.

"I don't think we have actually," Kirk countered, "If you had died in there, Cora could have died as well and…"

"And we would be together still," Spock cut in once more, making them all fall quiet at his words, at his...revelation that, if he HAD died he would have been content in knowing that he would have been with Cora soon afterwards, and that...chilled them, "Your suggestion that I do not care about dying is incorrect. I am well aware of Cora's potential fate should anything happen to me. A sentient being's optimal chance to maximizing utility is a long and prosperous life for him and his chosen partner…"

"Not exactly a love-song, Spock."

"Let him speak," Cora told them quietly.

Spock nodded his thanks to her, finally looking at her for the first time since they'd taken off in the shuttle, feeling his lips quirk as he saw her smiling in return, before he forced himself to look away and back to the Captain and Uhura, knowing if he didn't look away now, he wouldn't be able to, "You misunderstand. It is true I chose not to feel anything upon realizing that my own life was ending. But you are mistaken as to the reason why. I chose not to feel, because I knew that upon my death, Cora would likely die as well, and I…did not want to feel that, even if she were to live on, I did not want that for her. I did not want to die feeling as though I were killing her either," his voice grew quiet, "As Admiral Pike was dying I joined with his conscience, and experienced what he felt at the moment of his passing before Cora was able to soothe him…anger, confusion, loneliness. Fear. I had experienced those feelings before, multiplied exponentially on the day my planet was destroyed, when I saw Cora on the ground, in pain, suffering because of _my_ people. Such a feeling is something I choose _never_ to experience again, it is something I strive not to be the cause of. To know that, in dying, I would experience both…it was not something I could endure," he glanced at Uhura, "You mistake my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring, while I assure you, the truth is precisely the opposite. Something Cora herself is well aware of."

The two finally looked over at Cora to see her looking down, "You…knew?" Kirk asked.

She nodded, "I am his mate," she said simply, "I am an Empathic, of course I knew how he felt," she let out a shaky breath, "I felt it, when he fell into the volcano, even as we were running, I _felt_ it. I felt everything he did while he was in there, I understood," she looked at Uhura, "We spoke about it at length," she told the girl, "We have already conversed and placed the moment behind us. That is why I request it be left in the past. Just because he does not speak to you," she looked at them, "In a way you can interpret, does not mean I am as deaf to what he says when he does not speak."

Kirk frowned, looking between them, "Then why are you two unhappy right now?" he asked, Spock stiffening, alarmed at the thought that Cora was unhappy. But before he could ask another question, the ship jolted violently as it was struck by something, "What the hell was that?"

"We are being pursued by a D4 class Klingon vessel!" Spock called, turning to work at his controls as the others were, Cora stood, making her way to the main window, looking out at the planet they were flying through.

"I thought this sector was abandoned!" Kirk shouted as they were hit again.

"It must be a random patrol," Uhura argued.

"They are gaining on us," Cora remarked, feeling the Klingons approaching despite the fact they were on another ship, Klingons were known to be more primal and aggressive, their emotions heightened.

"Hold on!" Kirk flew the ship on.

"This ship has no offensive capabilities," Spock reminded him.

"She's got us," Kirk countered, "Give me all six fuel cells!"

"Aye captain," one of the other men agreed.

"Damn it!" Kirk cried as Cora stumbled back, the ship being hit numerous times by the Klingons.

"They are closing fast," Uhura reported, "Bearing 285."

"Right there!" Kirk pointed at a scan he was running of the different things they were flying through, finding a gap in the walls of two large obstacles before them, "There! We can lose them there."

"If you are suggesting we utilize the passage between the approaching structures, the ship will not fit," Spock warned.

"We'll fit," Kirk tried to reassure them.

"Captain we will not fit!" Spock shouted again.

"We'll fit!" Kirk snapped back as Cora closed her eyes and sent out as much calm as she could, confidence, reassurance, "We'll fit," he whispered, feeling sure of that, before he tilted the ship violently to the side, flying through it, barely managing to get through to the other side, "I told you we'd fit!" he cheered.

"I am not sure that qualifies," Spock remarked.

"Any sign of them?" Kirk glanced back, "Uhura? Cora?"

"No," Uhura frowned, "Which worries me."

"We lost them."

"I do not believe we did," Cora whispered, "They are…surrounding us, blocking the scanners."

Kirk was just about to look back at her…when lights flooded their windows, three Klingon ships stationed right before them, trapping them.

They sat in silence as the Klingons began to speak in their gutteral tones. Cora closed her eyes, not needing to know what was being said to know that they were ordering them to do something, that they were threatening them.

But Uhura took care of the translation for them all, "They're ordering us to land. Captain, they're going to want to know why we're here. And they're going to torture us, question us, and they're going to kill us."

Kirk stiffened at that, "So...we come out shooting."

"We're outnumbered, out-gunned. There's no way we survive if we attack first. You brought me here because I speak Klingon. Then let me speak Klingon."

"I will go with her Captain," Cora offered.

"No," Spock said instantly, turning to face her.

"It is my duty Spock," Cora argued, not backing down, "It is my job, I am a Negotiator for the Fleet. I may not be able to speak Klingon but I can give Nyota Uhura a better chance of getting through to them."

"Go," Kirk ordered before Spock could speak.

"Captain!" Spock turned to him, his eyes wide as the girls made their way to the doors outside, "Is this wise?"

"It's _logical_ Spock," Kirk countered.

"Captain I am not comfortable with this plan," Spock stated.

"And I thought the rubbing would only happen one way," Kirk muttered, confusing Spock but he turned to the Vulcan, "And what is bothering you about it Mr. Spock, besides the obvious?" he gestured at the window where the two women were cautiously walking towards the Klingon ship as it set down.

It wasn't that they were two women going to try and speak to the Klingon, but just two of his crew. Klingons…there was hardly any reasoning with them on a good day, they were all hoping that with Cora there the aliens might be more open to negotiation.

"Cora will be defenseless should they attack and it is likely they will," Spock reminded him, "Empathics are not to kill, she will not be able to use a phaser."

"Doesn't mean she's defenseless."

"That is, by definitions, to be without a weapon, precisely what it means."

"Are you forgetting the Romulans she took down Spock?" Kirk glanced at the man…only to see he was glaring at him.

"I forget nothing Captain," Spock said, trying his level best _not_ to start shouting, trying to control the urge to punch the man for putting Cora in jeopardy again.

"Look…this _will_ work," Kirk told him, "It's our only logical option," he added, "We go out there and stop them now the Klingons will attack all of us. Do you want that?"

Spock was silent, no he did not. He was feeling a strange sense stir within him at this. In one way, he was relieved Cora was no longer in the shuttle, that she as no longer so near to him that it was testing his will…but in another way he wanted her to be closer, he didn't want her out there with the Klingons but beside him, no matter how maddening it was to his mind.

And now, all he could do was wait and watch and hope everything would work out…when logically he knew the chances were very slim.

~8~

Outside the shuttle, Uhura glanced at Cora as the two women came upon one of the Klingon ships, the doors opening and a small army walking out, one moving to stand ahead of the others.

Uhura gave Cora a nod as she stepped before the girl, addressing the Klingon in their native language, Cora barely managing to understand what was being said, "I am here to help you."

~8~

In the shuttle, Kirk let out a breath and turned to grab a few phasers, handing them around to the other men, needing to feel like he was doing more to protect them than just standing there watching them. Despite his words to Spock, he knew very well that the likelihood of this going down without an attack were slim.

"Spock," he held out the phaser to him.

"I do not need that Captain," Spock turned back to look out the window intently.

"Spock, now isn't the time to talk pacifism and…"

"I am not 'talking pacifism,' Captain," Spock told him, "I do not need a phaser. If they attempt to harm Cora...I will kill them with my bare hands."

Kirk blinked and started at him, "Come again?"

Spock glanced at him, "Did you not hear me the first time?"

"No, I did," Kirk nodded, eyeing him intently, "And that's why I wasn't sure if I heard you right," he frowned, "Is something wrong Spock?"

"Why does everyone insist on asking me a question I have repeatedly answered?"

"Because you don't seem like yourself and you haven't answered truthfully, perhaps?" Kirk shot back.

"I can hardly be expected to be myself when my mate is in such apparent danger Captain," Spock turned to look back out the window.

Kirk just stared at him more…it wasn't that. He'd seen Cora in danger before, Spock had more faith in her and her abilities than anyone. This was…different, it was like he reacted then tried to control it or was fighting something and then losing control…

His thoughts were cut off though when Uhura spoke again…

~8~

"With respect," Uhura continued, "There is a criminal hiding in these ruins. He has killed many of our people."

Cora glanced at the Klingon, trying to stir some sort of anger or offense in them, but Klingon were naturally aggressive and their emotions were naturally more jaded that it was harder to sway them to see offense in that, they truly were apathetic to anyone who was not Klingon. She could only hope Uhura would say the right words that she could use to trigger emotions in them that would help.

The head of the Klingon squad stepped forward pulling down his helmet as he came to stand before them, "Why should I care about a human killing humans?" he asked, Cora just making it out.

Uhura took a breath, "Because you care about honor," she answered in Klingon, Cora trying to bring up those sensations, "And this man has none. You and your people are in danger."

Cora winced, that was the WORST thing to say to them, Klingon loved war. A threat against them meant war for all and that was a GOOD thing.

The Klingon grabbed Uhura's face, but Cora jumped forward, grabbing his wrist, "No!" she shouted, the Klingon falling to the ground as pain shot through him from her abilities, needing him down so she could get Uhura away. She grabbed Uhura's hand and pulled her back, the two of them running for cover as the other Klingon soldiers started to fire at them…

A/N: Yay! We're almost at Khan! ^-^ And I can say the next chapter will see a bit less of an 'angry' Pon Farr and a more...'passionate' side pop up ;)

Some notes on reviews...

That's awesome! Lucky you! You get Loki and then DW the day after! :)

Lol, yup, a Loki/OC is coming :) I've also got a separate and different Thor/OC too :) If you're interested, the covers are up on my tumblr, on my Upcoming Stories page, (tumblr link on profile) for the Thor stories ;) But thanks! :)


	9. Khan

Khan

Cora winced, dropping down behind a pillar to avoid the Klingon blasts...when, out of nowhere, a large laser shot past them, striking the attacking Klingons. They looked over to see a masked figure, a dark figure with a hood and cloth across his face, with a large weapon in one hand and a smaller phaser in the other, attacking the Klingons, protecting them as both sides started to attack.

Cora and Uhura gasped as Spock and Kirk and the rest of the crew ran out of the shuttle, firing, though Spock seemed to be heading right for her when the Klingons got in his way.

"Stay here!" Uhura shouted at her, before leaping over the pillar to go help the crew, knowing that Cora would be a sitting duck in a firefight without a phaser to use, knowing the girl would refuse to use one.

Cora gasped as a portion of the pillar beside her was stuck by an attack and exploded. She rushed to her feet, trying to get back to the crew amidst the attack. One or two Klingon jumped up before her but they quickly fell asleep as she ran past them, if she could get to the crew, if she could get them behind her she could use her abilities to incapacitate the Klingons, but they were ALL in range of her abilities and she wasn't quite at the point of picking and choosing a species to target just yet. Perhaps in a few years she would be able to do so, but it was beyond her at the moment.

She looked up, hearing a shout to see more Klingons descending…before more blasts rang out around her and she continued to run, "Spock!" she cried, making it to him.

"Cora!" he immediately turned, wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer as he moved her to the side, firing at a Klingon that had been chasing her, his arm tightening as he kept her near, firing rapidly at any and all Klingons that approached, needing to keep her safe. He could feel his heart racing, his blood flowing like ice water, his head pounding.

He could feel the Pon Farr thriving in such an atmosphere, the fighting, the aggression, the adrenaline rushing through him. This was what the Pon Farr truly needed to be calmed, to be conquered, not meditation. If he could just...expend it, if he could find a Klingon, truly fight them, hand-to-hand would be best, and beat them...the bloodlust would be satisfied. It wasn't enough to merely fire phasers set to stun at them, he...needed to truly face one down. But...with Cora there, it was that much harder, because he couldn't make himself leave her side, not now that she was in his arms again. He couldn't make himself turn away and go after a Klingon, to leave her defenseless...and a small part of his mind, the part that was clinging to logical thought, knew that he didn't want to expose her to that sort of violence again.

He knew what his anger did to her, how it startled and sometimes scared her when he lashed out. He didn't want her to ever thing he'd harm her.

They looked over when they heard a grunt to see Kirk had fallen…about to be attacked…when the masked man ripped off his mask to reveal himself to be _Harrison_, firing at the Klingon, saving him. Uhura ran to Kirk's side, helping him up, moving him to a side pillar as they joined him, all of them watching as Harrison attacked the Klingons, taking them all down single-handedly with a phaser and a knife and his bare hands.

He grabbed a gun that a Klingon had dropped and ran at them when Spock stood, aiming his own gun at him, "Stand down!" he ordered, a growl in his voice as he moved to stand before Cora.

"How many torpedoes?" Harrison asked them, as though not even noticing the weapon pointed at him.

"Stand down!" Spock repeated.

Harrison just fired at Spock's gun, knocking it out of his hands and asked them again, "The torpedoes! The weapons you threatened me with in your message. How many are they?"

"S-seventy two," Cora answered, feeling a desperation off him, the man _needed_ to know, it was important to him, the exact number was one of the most important things to him. She watched carefully, seeing a range of emotions play across his face that they others might have missed. From shock to happiness to hope to…surrender.

He threw down his gun, "I surrender."

Spock hesitated before he reached out and grabbed the gun off the ground, aiming it back at Harrison.

Kirk grunted as Uhura helped him stand, "James T. Kirk…" Cora began, sensing what he was going to do.

But he held up a hand to stop her, looking at Harrison, "On the behalf of Christopher Pike, my friend, I accept your surrender…"

...and then he punched Harrison across the face, hard, but the man barely flinched, didn't bother to defend himself or attack back as Kirk continued to fight him, punching him and kicking him and trying to hurt him...but seemed to be struggling to do so.

"Captain Kirk stop," Cora ran forward, putting a hand on Kirk's arm and pulling him back, pouring calm into him, making him let out a breath, letting the anger fade away from him, enough where he wouldn't harm himself in fighting so hard.

"Captain?" Harrison looked at him.

Kirk took a breath and turned, walking off, Uhura moving to his side for him to lean on her as she helped him off, "Cuff him," he muttered to two other crew members, Spock and Cora watching as Uhura led him back to the shuttle.

Cora looked over, feeling Spock's eyes on her and offered him a small smile, opening her mouth to ask if he had been harmed...only for Spock to stride over to her and take her in his arms, holding her tightly to him as he embraced her. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, hugging him back, before she turned her head, burying it into the side of his neck, clutching him tighter, relieved to know that he was alright and that he seemed to feel better with her.

Spock closed his eyes, squeezing her tighter to him, feeling his heart both race and slow at the same time, slow in that she was safe once more, and race in that she was in his arms again. He bowed his head slightly, his face lightly burying in her hair as he breathed deep, inhaling her soothing scent. He felt himself swallow hard, trying to let her go but his mind and body refusing to do so and pulling her closer.

The Pon Farr had not abated with this minor battle, if anything...being in the middle of such an adrenaline filled moment and having no release for it, no finish...it had made it so much worse...

~8~

Spock stood in the back of the shuttle, in a small space that he had sealed himself into while the others brought Harrison into the Enterprise. He had claimed it was to change back into his Fleet uniform...however he was currently standing in the darkened room, his shirt, truly the only part of his uniform he'd changed, off, the blue cloth he was meant to use cast off to the side. It was a small bathroom of sorts and he was standing before the mirror, his hands braced on either side of the sink as he bowed his head, breathing hard, trying to gain control of himself, vainly it appeared.

It had been a sorry excuse to be alone, he knew, a rather feeble one. But it had been the only thing his mind could think of that would force him to let go of Cora. He hadn't strayed far from her on the way back to the Enterprise, he'd even...held her hand, as they flew back, something he did not normally ever do for an extended period of time, around others at least. But he hadn't been able to let go of her. His body was humming, buzzing, electrified from her touch. It burned him and spread through him instantly, leaving him feeling cold whenever she let go of him...and he wanted more of it.

He had found his attention wavering during the flight back, his duties starting to slack with his inability to focus on what he was tasked to do. He kept looking at her, his gaze wandering to her without his intention to do so. He struggled to return it to the task at hand and when the shuttle had touched down back in the hanger, he had been up and at Cora's side in an instant...something that had garnered odd looks from Kirk and had been what shocked him into realizing how...not himself he was acting.

He'd excused himself in that brief moment of clarity and made his way to the back of the ship, and there he was. Panting, struggling to stop himself shaking. It wasn't just his hands any longer, it was his entire body. He hadn't anticipated the battle with the Klingons would affect him THIS much. All it had served to do was increase his adrenaline, flood his body with energy and...the fact that Cora had been in the middle of it, it had made him all too aware that his mate was in danger and that HE had to protect her. She had, once more, become a focal point of his mind and thoughts. To be in battle, but have it revolve around his mate, was worse than to find his mind drifting towards her when he was completely calm.

"Spock?" he heard someone speak from behind him.

He turned suddenly, his eyes widening to see Cora standing before him, inside the room, he hadn't even heard the door open, he had been certain he'd locked it...but there she was, standing there in her Fleet uniform, her typical long-sleeved blue dress, black leggings and boots, her hair and eyes as vibrant as ever as she gazed upon him, "Cora..." he breathed, "What are you doing here?"

She stepped closer to him and he tried to back away...only to recall that the room was rather small, there was nowhere for him to go, "I wished to ensure you were well," she remarked, stepping closer to him till she was right before him, barely an inch of space between them, so close he could feel her warmth.

"I told you I was fine," he reminded her, and he had indeed reassured the crew he was alright when they'd taken off.

"I wished to see for myself that you had not been injured," she added, lifting her hand and gently placing it on his chest.

He felt himself shudder, his eyes falling closed as the warmth, the sensation of flames raced through him at her touch, "Cora..." he began, his voice shaking, wanting to warn her away from touching him, yet not trusting his voice to form those exact words and not something else.

Cora's hand drifted up his chest, across his shoulder towards his neck, lightly stroking it with her thumb, "Spock you do not need to lie to me," she whispered.

"Vulcans cannot..." his breath hitched, feeling her other hand move to rest on his other arm, "Lie..."

"Then you do not need to hide the truth from me," she corrected, gazing at him, her right hand drifting up to he cheek, gently tilting his head to look at her, "Look at me," she ordered lightly and his eyes snapped open, staring into hers, "Spock," she tilted her head, "You do not need to hide your feelings from me, I can feel them."

"My apologies," he swallowed hard, feeling her left hand running up and down his arm, feeling himself starting to shake as she stepped closer, till she was pressed against him.

"You do not need to apologize," she smiled, "I feel the same."

"You do?" he stared at her, feeling his heart racing more, his mind starting to go...fuzzy...starting to feel light-headed at her words, dizzy, or...as he was sure the humans would say...intoxicated, if only he knew what that felt like for a better comparison.

She merely gave him a smirk that nearly sent him to his knees and leaned in, pressing her lips to his.

His mind went blank instantly as his arms wrapped around her, lifting her up, lifting her closer to him as he kissed her deeply. He could feel it, the fire inside him, the desire for her, the...hunger, the need to be closer to her, closer than they were. He took a step towards her, wanting to be even nearer, only to realize he'd been making his way closer to her without realizing it, that her back was now pressed against the wall and it still wasn't close enough.

"Spock..." she murmured as she pulled away, both of them panting, "Spock."

He closed his eyes, resting his forehead to hers, feeling himself trembling at her using his name, feeling like he couldn't breathe at the moment, like he'd never be able to breathe again if he wasn't kissing her, and leaned in to continue, his mind not seeing that they were currently in a bathroom, on a shuttle, after a battle with the Klingons, but just that his mate was there, before him, and he wanted her...

"Spock," she breathed again as he moved to press his lips to hers once more...

"Spock!"

Spock jerked, looking around in alarm to see himself standing in the doorway to his room, to his and Cora's room, the girl in question standing before him, still dressed in her non-Fleet uniform, staring at him, holding the blue uniform she had been about to change into in her hands. He blinked rapidly, his head jerking from side to side as he felt himself grow cold as a dreaded realization hit him.

"Are you alright?" Cora asked him, frowning.

She had been about to change, Kirk having given them only a few minutes to do so before wanting to meet them all where the man, Harrison, was going to be held. She had been waiting for Spock, but he hadn't come out of the shuttle, so she'd gone to their room to get changed into her uniform and had just turned from pulling her dress out of a drawer when she'd heard the doors open and saw Spock standing there just...staring at her, silent, not saying a word.

But that wasn't what had bothered her, he did that often enough, what bothered her was that...his eyes...they looked dazed, cloudy, unaware. It was like he hadn't known where he was, like he wasn't aware that she was there but that he WAS staring at her. And...she felt something roll off him that shocked her, desire, for her. It had taken her breath away and it was just growing more and more powerful the longer he stared at her and...it made her uncomfortable as well in that...he didn't seem to realize he was feeling it or letting her feel it or even aware of anything that was going on. She'd called out to him nearly four times before he'd heard her.

Spock swallowed hard, looking at the ground...he had no idea how he'd gotten there or why he'd gone there when Kirk had requested they meet at Harrison's cell. He...he couldn't remember what had happened. The last thing he truly remembered was stepping out of the shuttle's control room...and he could have sworn he'd been_ in_ the bathroom of the shuttle...but now he was in their room, with no memory of how he'd gotten there. He closed his eyes tightly, it was another symptom of the Pon Farr.

The mating drives were pushing him towards her, taking him to her, to his mate, without him realizing it. Its own way of urging him to be with her. And that...whatever it was his mind had developed, had not helped. Vulcans, as far as he was aware, did not often 'day dream' as the humans would call it, preferring to remain focused in all areas of the mind, they did not let their thoughts drift. But...it appeared his human half was not going to be as much help as he had once hoped, it seemed it was allowing his Vulcan side to...fantasize.

"Spock?" Cora asked again.

He just looked at her, feeling his hands clench into fists as he forced himself to stay where he was despite the concern he saw on her face, the confusion, the worry for him, all emotion that made him want her more...

"Many apologies," was all he could say before he stepped out of the room and stormed down the hall leaving a rather confused mate in their bedroom.

~8~

Cora jogged through the halls of the Enterprise as she followed Kirk, McCoy, and Spock to deal with Harrison after the man had been led, under armed guard, into one of the holding cells, waiting to be spoken to.

"Why the hell did he surrender?" McCoy asked after they had finished telling him what had happened.

"I don't know," Kirk muttered, still very angry that the man hadn't been just killed on sight.

"He wants the torpedoes," Cora spoke, trying not to notice how Spock seemed to wince at the sound of her voice now, if only she had known the reason why, "He only surrendered after he found out the 72 were onboard," she added, "His expression, his emotions, he _cares_ about the torpedoes more than himself," she glanced over as they entered the hall that held the cells, "Your greatest option in getting through to him Captain Kirk," she added, knowing he would want to speak to the man more than he wanted her to negotiate, "Will be to use the torpedoes as leverage."

He nodded, pointing at McCoy, "He just took out squadron of Klingons single-handedly. I want to know how. I want to know what we can do to stop him if he attacks the crew."

McCoy nodded, "Sounds like we have a Superman onboard."

"You tell me," Kirk ordered as they approached the glass window that made up the front of the cell.

McCoy moved a small circular device that was lodged in the side of the glass to the middle, widening it slightly, "Put your arm through that hole. I'm going to take a blood sample."

The man eyed them, before rolling down the sleeve of his black shirt and sticking his arm through, though his gaze was on Kirk, "Why aren't we moving, Captain? An unexpected malfunction? Perhaps in your warp core, immediately stranding you on the edge of the Klingon space?"

"How the hell do you know that?" McCoy stared at him.

"Bones," Kirk shook his head, seeing Cora frowning at the man.

"I think you'd find my insight valuable, Captain," Harrison defended.

"I think you'll find we won't fall for your crap," he countered, before turning to McCoy, "Are we good?" McCoy moved the hole away from Harrison, shrinking it as the man pulled his arm back in, "Let me know what you can find. Spock, Cora, with me," he turned to go.

"Ignore me, and you will get _everyone_ on this ship killed," Harrison shouted at him, making Kirk stop.

"He is only trying to manipulate you Captain Kirk," Cora remarked to him softly, glancing back at the man, "He is trying to manipulate all of us, but…" she looked at Kirk, "He is unaware that I am an Empathic," for the moment at least.

It wasn't quite so odd that she wasn't always recognized despite her eyes. Most Cadets didn't know what she was at first till others told them or till they learned about the other alien species. Not many Empathics were seen off Hestia, it wouldn't be too difficult to assume he'd never encountered one before and merely thought she was a humanoid alien with odd eyes.

"As long as he remains unaware, he will not be able to trick me," she added, and even then it would be hard. There hadn't been a single person she'd heard of who had managed to lie to an Empathic and not have them sense it.

"I would not recommending engaging the prisoner further," Spock agreed.

Kirk took a breath, "Give me a minute."

"Cora," Spock looked at her.

She glanced at him, hearing him address her, and moved to follow Kirk, the captain rolling his eyes at that, knowing the both expected him to overreact or something and…it was probably a good thing Cora went with him then while Spock hung back, she tended to keep him as calm as Spock infuriated him.

"Let me explain what's happening here," Kirk began as he addressed Harrison, the man standing there, "You are a criminal. I watched you murder innocent men and women, I was authorized to end you. And the _only_ reason why you are still alive...is because I am allowing it. So _shut_ your _mouth_."

"Captain, are you're going to punch me again, over and over, till your arm weakens?" Harrison smirked, "Clearly you want to. So, tell me, why did you allowed me to live?"

"We all make mistakes."

"No…" Harrison laughed, "I surrendered to you because, despite your attempt to convince me otherwise, you seem to have a conscience, Mr. Kirk. If you did not, then it would be impossible for me to convince you of the truth."

Kirk glanced at Cora at that, the girl giving him a small, infinitesimal nod to listen, that Harrison seemed to notice, "2-3, 1-7, 4-6, 1-1, coordinates not far from Earth. If you want to know why I did what I did...go and take a look."

"Give me one reason why I should listen you," Kirk glared.

"Because your little girl told you to," he grinned, "Oh…" he frowned mockingly, "Or is she YOUR girl?" he glanced at Spock, seeing the man looking murderous for his mate being mistaken for another's, "Tsk, tsk," he shook his head at Spock, "A Vulcan wanting to _murder_," he sighed, "Perhaps you are but less than Vulcan," he guessed.

"Cora doesn't make the decisions around here," Kirk defended, even though Cora's sign had been to listen to the man, it didn't mean he _had_ to do as the man asked.

"Then if you require another, I can give you 72," Harrison countered, "And they are onboard your ship, Captain. They have been all long. I suggest you open one up."

Kirk glared at Harrison once more, when Cora placed a hand on his arm, turning to lead him away, calming him in the process, "You really need to stop doing that," he muttered as they walked off.

"And you need to sit down before you have a stroke," she countered.

Kirk let out a small laugh at that.

~8~

"Are you out of your corn-fed mind?" McCoy hissed at Kirk as they all gathered on the Bridge, Kirk having told them what Harrison had told him about the torpedoes, how he'd contacted Scotty to look into some coordinates as well and how he was…curious to see what's in them, "You're not actually going to _listen_ to this guy? He killed Pike, he almost killed you, and now think it's a good idea to pop open a_ torpedo_ because he dared you to do it?"

"There IS something about the torpedoes," Cora spoke up, "I…" she bit her lip, trying to think of a way to phrase it, "They give off an…odd feeling."

"Wait," Kirk looked at her, "You can_ feel_ torpedoes?"

"Anyone can feel a torpedo," Cora blinked, "They are solid objects."

McCoy gave a little laugh at Kirk rubbing his face at that, "I think he meant you're feeling something OFF them, Red."

"Oh," Cora nodded, "Yes. On Hestia, it is not uncommon for Empathics to, at times, feel the emotions of things that are not of our species. We sense animals and their emotions as well," it was why they were vegetarians, "But…at times we might also sense that of…plants or…rocks, other objects in nature, trees. It is rare, but there _have_ been accounts of it happening. It is, quite what I imagine I feel when I pass the torpedoes, there is _something_ there. Something alive about them."

Kirk nodded, pointing at her, "See?"

McCoy rolled his eyes, "That doesn't prove anything Jim."

"Why did he save our lives, Bones?"

"The doctor does have a point, Captain," Spock said.

Kirk looked at him, startled both at him speaking when he'd been relatively (almost unnaturally) silent and also for what he was saying, "You're agreeing with Bones? Over _Cora_?"

"Don't agree with me, Spock," McCoy agreed, "It makes me very uncomfortable."

"Perhaps you, too, should learn governing your emotions, doctor," Spock turned to him, not wanting to answer Kirk's question, it was difficult enough standing in the same room as his mate with other men around, he did not need the man to bring her up constantly, as though e weren't already focused on her, "In this situation, logic dictates..."

"Logic! My god. There's a maniac trying to make us blow up our own damn ship, and you're talking about..."

"Cor?" Kirk sighed, feeling as though that was probably the hundredth time he'd had to have her calm down Spock and McCoy since the Enterprise had been given to him, they did tend to get into the most arguments around the ship.

McCoy took a breath at Cora's calming aura, "Thanks Red."

"Look, the point is, we don't know why he surrendered but that's not it," Kirk continued, "So, if we're going to open a torpedo the question is how?"

"But Jim, without Mr. Scott onboard who exactly is qualified to just pop-open a four ton stick of dynamite?"

"The Admiral's daughter appeared to be have interest in the torpedoes and she _is_ a weapons' specialist," Spock remarked, "Perhaps she could be of some use."

"What Admiral daughter?" Kirk frowned.

"Carol Marcus. Your new science officer concealed her identity to board the ship."

"And when were you going to tell me that?"

Spock blinked, "When it became relevant, as it just did."

~8~

The crew gathered in the Bridge to watch on the data on the viewscreen as Wallace and Bones landed a shuttle on an uninhabited planetoid nearby. Kirk had confronted Wallace about the torpedoes and she had agreed to open one for them. Apparently she'd been following her father's secret workings and had been trying to find out what was so special about those particular ones for a while. It was why she'd forged her way onto the ship in the first place. It was, apparently, the one project her father _didn't_ give her clearance to deal with, which only served to make her curious.

"Captain on the Bridge," Sulu announced as Kirk entered.

"Mr. Sulu, doctors Marcus and McCoy landed on the planetoid, yet?" Kirk asked.

"Yes, sir. They're moving the torpedo into the position now."

"Good, any activity from the Klingons?"

"Not yet, but if we're stuck here much longer they _will_ find us."

"Lieutenant Uhura," Kirk turned to her, "Did you let Starfleet know that we have Harrison in custody."

"Yes, sir," she nodded, "No response yet."

"Engineering to Bridge," Chekov's voice came over the comms. "Hello, Captain, can you hear me?"

"Mr. Chekov, give me some good news," Kirk sat at the chair.

"We found ze leak, sir, but ze damage is substantial. We are working on it."

Kirk tensed and glanced at Spock and Cora across the room, both of them on opposite sides of the room, which made him inwardly groan, it had looked like they'd resolved their issues after the Klingon attack, he'd never seen them closer, and now they were separated again, "Any idea what caused it?"

"No, sir but I accept full responsibility."

"Something tells me it wasn't your fault. Stay on it."

"Shuttle is standing by, Captain," Sulu called.

"Bones, thanks for helping out, Dr. Marcus asked for steadiest hands on the ship."

"You know, when I dreamt about being stuck on a deserted planet with a gorgeous woman, there was no torpedo," McCoy called over the communicators. They had no visual of the planet, but just the audio, which was making them all more nervous than they knew they should be, but Cora was doing her job in keeping them calm.

"Dr. McCoy, may I remind you, you are not there to flirt."

"So, how can these legendary hands help you Dr. Marcus?"

"Bones!" Kirk rolled his eyes, though he felt himself smile when he heard Cora laughing behind him.

"To understand how powerful these weapons are we need to open the warhead," Wallace spoke, "To do that, we need to access the fuel compartment. Unfortunately for us, warhead's on these weapons are live."

"Sweetheart, I once a performed an emergency c-section on a pregnant Gorn," McCoy told her, "Octoplets, let me tell you those little bastards_ bite_. I think I can work some magic on your missile."

"Dr. McCoy, there is a bundle of fiber optic-cables against the inner casing, you'll need to cut the 23rd wire down. Whatever you do, do _not_ touch anything else. Do you understand?"

"Right. The thought never crossed my mind."

"Dr. McCoy, wait for my word. I'm rerouting detonation processor. Are you ready?"

"And raring."

"Good luck."

They all held their breath, listening…when suddenly McCoy cried out in pain, the sound of metal locking down hitting them, "Sir, torpedo just armed itself!" Sulu shouted.

"The warhead is going to detonate in 30 seconds!" another crew member warned.

"What the hell happened?" McCoy was saying, "I can get my arm out."

"Target clear signal, beam them back right now!" Kirk ordered.

Cora looked around, trying to keep the calm going as the crew frantically worked to try and do something to help McCoy. But she frowned and blinked, turning around to Spock, feeling him grow confused, "What is it?" she asked.

He looked back at her, "Transporter cannot differentiate between Dr. McCoy and the torpedo. We cannot beam back one without the other."

Cora frowned, "But…the transporters are locked onto a_ life_ signal aren't they?" it was how they beamed people aboard, it focused on them and their vitals…if they couldn't tell the difference between McCoy and the torpedo…did that mean the torpedo was…alive? More alive than she thought they were.

"Dr. Marcus can you disarm it?" Kirk turned back to the viewscreen.

"I'm trying," Wallace panted, "I'm trying!"

"Jim get her the hell out of here!" McCoy shouted.

"No. If you beam me back, he dies. Just let me do it."

"10, 9, 8…" McCoy began to count down.

"Standing by to transport Dr. Marcus on your command, sir," Spock called.

"4, 3..."

"Shit!" Wallace shouted as a ripping noise followed…and then a metal clamp unlocking reached them again.

"Deactivation successful, Captain," Sulu reported.

Kirk let out a breath of relief at that, the relief in the room filling it and he knew it was Cora feeling that too, "Dr. McCoy, are you alright? Bones?"

"Jim?" McCoy began a moment later, a hesitant tone in his voice, "You're going to want to see this."

~8~

Down on the planet, McCoy and Wallace looked at each other and then…at the body hidden _inside_ the torpedo.

~8~

Cora followed Kirk into the med-bay with Spock, the captain having requested she join him there after McCoy had suggested she might be useful. Apparently, there were bodies hidden in the torpedoes and the man thought she might be able to sense something off of them even as they slept. She had been a bit…surprised when Spock had moved to follow them, she was just…so confused.

At one moment it appeared he couldn't even look at her, at another like he couldn't stop staring at her. One time he wanted to be far away from her, another not let her out of his reach. She just…she didn't know what was going on with him, it was like everything he was feeling was shifting around so much and he kept trying to bury them. He was succeeding too, he was trying to control them in a way she had never seen someone control emotions before, hiding them, burying them, dimming them to the point where she wasn't getting a clear feel of them.

It must be taking him enormous effort and restraint though, he seemed to be struggling with doing so for so long. She didn't want to pry, she knew her abilities could be an invasion of privacy at times so she always tried to restrain them and not feel what someone wasn't projecting out at her. She just hoped that Spock would talk to her about it, to come to some sort of place in his emotions that he'd tell her what was wrong. Yes, she could feel emotions, but it didn't mean she could read minds, she wouldn't know what was causing them, only that he was feeling them.

"What have we got?" Kirk asked as they entered.

Cora frowned, staring into the torpedo, seeing a man asleep, "Is that…a body?" she looked at McCoy.

"Unfortunately," McCoy nodded.

"It's quite clever actually," Wallace added, "This fuel container was removed from torpedo and retro fitted to hide this cryo-tube."

"Is he alive?" Kirk asked.

"He is," Cora nodded, reaching out to place her hand on top of the glass of the cryo-tube, "I can feel it…he IS alive."

McCoy agreed, "But if we try revive him without the proper procedure, we could kill him. This technology is beyond me."

"How advanced, doctor?" Spock asked, pulling his gaze away from Cora to look at the doctor.

"It's not advanced," Wallace corrected, "That cryo-tube is _ancient_."

"We haven't needed to freeze anyone since we developed warp capability," McCoy added, "Which explains the most interesting thing about of our friend here. He's 300 years old."

Kirk stared at him a moment before looking at Cora, "Cor? Anything?"

Cora glanced at him before focusing on the frozen man, frowning, biting her lip as she tried to read him, "Many apologies Captain Kirk," she sighed, "While he is frozen, unconscious, and in stasis, I cannot get a proper read on him. He is not feeling anything at the moment nor is he aware enough to do so. If he is not feeling, there is nothing for me to read."

Kirk nodded, "Well I know someone you CAN read," he turned to lead her out, his hand just about to touch the small of her back when Spock grabbed his wrist stopping him. Kirk looked at the man, not saying anything as he didn't wish to alert Cora to what was happening behind her, or to the fierce glare Spock, of all people, was sending him. He pulled his arm away, gesturing the man on first, watching as Spock put _his_ hand on Cora's back to lead her out.

Kirk frowned, watching them step out of the room and looked back at McCoy, "Bones…see if you can get access to those medical records the USS Bradbury took for Spock. Something's off."

"You see it too?" McCoy asked.

Wallace, though, glanced at them, "You mean he's _not_ always like that?"

Kirk let out a small, scoffing laugh, "Oh he is, but he actually smiles once in a while," before he headed out of the med-bay after the others.

~8~

Kirk led Spock and Cora right up to Harrison's cell to see the man standing there, staring out at space, though he turned around when Kirk spoke, "Why there is a man in that torpedo?"

"Why are there _people_ in _all_ the torpedoes?" Cora corrected lightly from beside Kirk, standing in between him and Spock, though the two of them were off to the side slightly, giving Kirk the center spot.

THAT was what she was feeling off them, all of them, every single one gave her the same sensation as the one with the man in it. To take a lesson from Spock, logically that had to mean all the torpedoes had frozen people in them.

"Simple," Harrison remarked, "Because I put them there."

"Who the hell are you?" Kirk demanded.

The man sighed, "A remnant of the time long past," he answered, stepping closer to them, to look out at them through the glass wall of his cell, "Genetically engineered to be superior so as to lead others to peace in a world at war."

Cora frowned, tensing beside Spock as he glanced at her, watching her expression carefully as she intently watched and listened and sensed the man as he spoke.

"But we were condemned as criminals, forced into exile. For centuries we slept. Hoping when we woke, things would be different. But as a result of the destruction of Vulcan your Starfleet began to aggressively search distant quadrants of space. My ship was found adrift, I alone was revived."

Kirk paused, glancing at Cora, the girl giving him only a small bite on her lip to indicate that there were portions that were truth and portions that were lies or that the truth the man was saying was not what really happened...that the intent behind it didn't match the words. It was a small system they had worked out. A nod meant truth, a shake meant lies, but a hesitant gesture, like biting her lip, meant there was too much of both for her to be able to tell him so without the other person noticing.

And it was true, the man was telling them the truth, what he was SAYING was true. But she couldn't help but feel like it wasn't the whole truth. They might have been created for that purpose, but there was nothing to say that was what they were actually used for. They might have slept and hoped for a new world when they woke, but she doubted it was a world at peace as opposed to a world at war for them to fight in, or a world in chaos for them to take control of.

Kirk took a breath and turned back to the man, knowing that he'd have to speak to Cora later about that, "I looked up John Harrison. Until a year ago he didn't exist."

"John Harrison was fiction created the moment I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help him advance his cause," the man explained, "A smoke screen to conceal my true identity. My name...is Khan."

"Why would a Starfleet Admiral ask a 300 year old frozen man for help?" Kirk asked.

"Because I am better."

"At what?"

"Everything," Khan smirked, Cora shivering a little, it was…truth, the complete truth and that alarmed her, "Alexander Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilized threat in a civilized time. And, for that, he needed a warrior's mind, _my_ mind, to design weapons and warships."

"You are suggesting the Admiral violated every regulation he vowed to uphold, simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect," Spock cut in.

"And he is telling the truth," Cora whispered to them, making them look at her.

"And how would _you_ know that?" Khan eyed her intently a moment before smirking, "Oh…an Empathic," he laughed, seeing her stiffen, seeing that he'd figured her out, "Do you not find it odd that Admiral Marcus, seeking help from _me_, with all the advancements I have given him...made no attempt to liberate your planet? It IS still a slave-planet isn't it?"

"Not even you would be able to best an Empathic," Cora remarked, "It would be illogical to try to liberate Hestia and face down an army of us when we are _forced_ to fight."

Khan scoffed, "You overestimate yourself."

Cora shook her head, "You underestimate me."

Khan's lips pursed slightly, hearing a semi-challenging note in her voice, "Well you are interesting, aren't you?" he took a step closer, noting how the Vulcan tugged her back a step, as though he'd be able to escape the cell and attack her, "You are unlike the other Empathics, you have spirit."

"We're not here to discuss Cora or her planet," Kirk cut in, not needing to be Cora to see she was getting uncomfortable and Spock actually seemed to be getting _angry_ at Khan's focus on her.

Khan gave Cora one more look before he turned his head to face Kirk instead, "He wanted to exploit my savagery," he told the man, glancing at Spock, "Intellect alone is useless in a fight, Mr. Spock. You…you cannot even break a _rule_, how would you be excepted to break _bone_?" Spock stiffened at that as Khan smiled and looked at Kirk once more, "Marcus used me to design weapons. To help him realize his vision of militarized Starfleet. He sent you to use those weapons, to fire my torpedoes on an unsuspecting planet. And then he purposely crippled your ship in enemy space, leading to one inevitable outcome, the Klingons would come searching whomever was responsible and you have no chance of escape. Marcus...would finally have the war he talked about, the war he always wanted."

"No," Kirk shook his head, "No…"

"Captain…" Cora breathed, Kirk looking at her for how she didn't follow it with 'Kirk', to see her staring at Khan, alarmed at how MUCH of the truth the man was giving them, before she turned her gaze on him, "He's…he IS telling the _truth_."

Kirk stared at her a long while, it was impossible to lie to an Empathic, they could tell, they could always tell, even the youngest Empathic with the best liar in the Universe could tell when someone was lying to them. And now…he had proof that Khan was apparently telling the truth, for whatever reason she hesitated in expressing truth or lie before...she was certain Khan was telling them the entire truth now.

Marcus was betraying Starfleet's purpose.

A/N: I hope you liked that little bit of Pon Farr popping up both in battle and after ;) ;) I remember in the actual episode dealing with Spock's Pon Farr that he found himself changing the ship's course to Vulcan without realizing he'd done it till others brought it up. I thought it would be interesting to have him wander across the Enterprise without realizing he was moving and end up with Cora. I wondered, during that moment in the show, if he didn't realize what he was doing, what did he _think _he was doing at that moment, so I went a little deeper into his mind here, seeing what he thinks is happening as opposed to what IS happening :)

I can say that we've seen a bit of his protective drive and attraction to Cora play up here. But the next chapter...we'll see another side to him }:)

And I can say we've only just begun to see Cora confront and react to Khan ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, it's definitely a happy coincidence for the Loki story :) But I'm glad it'll help make your birthday a great day :)

We saw a tiny bit of him defending her here, but just wait till Khan gets involved. Whether it'll be physically or verbally defending her from him, I won't say, it could be one, or both ;) Oh I've got many things planned for both Cora and my Kirk OC for the warp core, but I won't say what :) And thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story :)

Lol, I can't update twice a day, sorry! It's mostly because I'm just barely scraping together time to edit the one chapter per day at the moment for this story and my DW story (so, technically, I am doing 2 chapters a day lol). I'm hoping when school is over in May I'll have more time to really put up more chapters :)

I think Cora feels the same, with wanting Spock to tell her what's on his mind instead of in his heart :) I think he does trust her, he's just worried she'll feel obligated to be with him to save him and he wanted it to be more special to her, because he knows it should be a very special moment for her as an Empathic and he doesn't want to taint it or cheapen what it would mean :( But she'll definitely figure it out very soon ;) As for Khan, I think he'll greatly enjoy the fact that she's an Empathic, he seems the sort to love a challenge :) I'm glad you're excited for the Thor stories :)

Lol, the Loki story will be up on the 22nd, so only a couple more days :)

Khan will definitely try to get to Cora, but as for if it'll be physically get to her or verbally/emotionally, we'll have to wait and see :)

Lol, I try to update my stories at least once a day, so 24 hours at most ;)

I think Spock's a little too gentlemanly to do that, but we can see the Pon Farr is really starting to get to him. I don't think he'll be able to hold out much longer after this chapter ;)


	10. The USS Vengeance

The USS Vengeance

"I watched you open fire in a room full of unarmed Starfleet officers," Kirk looked at Khan, shaken by Cora's words, but still not sure what that had to do with what Khan had done, why he had attacked, why he'd destroyed the archives just to get them all in one room. Ok, Marcus might be an enemy as well, but so was Khan, "You killed them in cold blood."

"Marcus took my crew from me!" Khan shouted, turning around, not seeing Cora flinch at his words and tone, at the emotion she could feel rolling off him.

He actually was...upset, about that, desperate to have his crew back. It made her pause, trying to sense if there was something else, if this was a way to manipulate the situation to his advantage. She was sure it would be coming, but...for that single moment, Khan was being honest.

"You're a _murderer_!"

"He used my friends to control me," Khan began, his voice growing quiet, distant…troubled, "I tried to smuggle them to safety by concealing in them in the very weapons I had designed. But I was discovered, I had no choice but to escape alone. And when I did, I had _every_ reason to suspect that Marcus had killed _every single one_ of the people I hold most dear."

Cora flinched, closing her eyes at that as a tear fell from her eyes at the same time it fell from Khan's, having felt all that Khan felt as he spoke, the pain, the fear, the…love…he held for his crew. It left her shaking, to feel the pain he endured, the guilt he bore to have had to leave them like he had. She let out a breath, bowing her head, her face scrunching as she felt him speak, he was being honest, more open and honest than he had likely ever been. She took a breath, shaking her head as she looked back up at Khan, tears swimming in her eyes, not seeing Spock had put his own attention on her the moment she'd bowed her head, the moment she'd cried for Khan, instead of watching Khan.

"So,I responded in kind," Khan finished. He turned around to face them, his gaze falling onto Cora, seeing her affected by his words, before he looked at Kirk, "My crew...is my family, Kirk. Is there anything you would not do for your family?"

"Cora?" Kirk asked, glancing at her.

"I believe her reaction is testament to my story," Khan remarked.

Cora took a breath and looked at Kirk, "He is being truthful," she told him, shaken from what she'd felt now.

She had been correct to assume the manipulation would come, and come it had. Because beyond the pain and guilt she felt rolling off him for what he had done and what had been done to his people, she also felt anger and drive and…ill intent. Whatever reason he was telling them this, for whatever reason he was being so honest...it was not for what others might think. But…this was delicate, this was something that had to be handled with care. Khan was…manipulative, he was trying to use her against the crew, she could sense it even now. He was trying to stir empathy in her, make her feel sorry for him, make her feel pitying for his plight, so that she might convince the crew to listen to him.

Yes, he DID feel all that as he spoke, he felt it for his crew. But SHE could feel beyond what he felt in the past to what he felt now. And there was something SHE needed to deal with Khan first before she could speak to Kirk about it.

"Proximity alert, sir," a man called over Kirk's comm. before another word could be spoken, "There's a ship at warp heading right for us."

"Klingons?" Kirk looked down at the communicator.

"At warp?" Khan scoffed, "No, Kirk. We both know who it is."

"I don't think so," the man agreed, "It's not coming at us from Kronos."

Kirk took a breath and turned to leave, Spock following, "Lieutenant, move Khan to med-bay, post six security officers on him."

"Yes, Captain," the man he'd passed rushed to do just that.

"Cora?" Kirk turned to see the was still girl standing before Khan, not moving, "You coming?"

Cora didn't even look back, her eyes locked on Khan, as she called, "Permission to have a word with the prisoner before he is moved, Captain Kirk?"

Kirk stiffened, not liking that, but…Cora rarely EVER asked for things without a reason. And right now, with the ship approaching he didn't have time to refuse or question or even stay there with her and keep an eye on her, "Granted," he called, turning to Spock, "Stay with her," he ordered, before heading out.

Spock stood there, at the door, giving Cora space, but being close enough where he could hear what was being said, where he could watch Khan. It was...good, that he was there and not beside her. He hadn't been able to look away from her till Kirk's comm. had gone off, which was not good, it was not something he wanted Khan to see, his focus on her. From the door, he'd be far enough away where looking at her could be mistaken for looking at Khan as well. And the distance...was good, he had to be away from her, she was too close before. Seeing her upset, seeing her cry...it had twisted his gut most painfully, made him want to reach out to her, but he knew, after that moment he'd imagined in the shuttle, that touching her was the worst thing he could do.

If he touched her now...he wouldn't be able to let go.

If he touched her now...she'd sense EXACTLY how he felt, and he couldn't let that happen.

Cora stared at Khan a long while, "You give away more than you mean to," she remarked.

"I did not lie," Khan defended.

"No," she agreed, "But in giving away what you have, I have seen more than you intended to reveal," she told him, "You paint a picture of being a victim, but…I see you for what you are," she tilted her head, studying him, "I do not trust you Khan."

Khan smirked at her, confident, "But your captain will."

"No," she shook her head, "You underestimate me again. My crew…is my family as well. And I will protect them from you no matter the cost. In not trusting you, THEY will not trust you either, any of them."

"You would influence a whole crew against me?" his eyes narrowed.

"No," she argued, "I do not need to influence them like that. I merely need to make them aware of my distrust. They trust me, more than they will _ever_ trust you. I can tell when people lie to me Khan, I can tell when they have ill intent, when they are not giving the whole truth, when the have another motive," she eyed him, "I sense that in you. What you say and what you plan are two very different things. You hope to garner sympathy, you attempt to manipulate me, but you will fail, you _have_ failed."

Khan's eyes narrowed at her, at her implication that he hadn't succeeded, him, the best soldier out there, he should have been able to manipulate the Empathic, but it appeared he truly had failed, "And you Empathics overestimate yourselves," he tilted his own head, "You claim expertise over emotions, you claim strength, you claim trust, and yet you cannot even go against the will of your masters. Tell me, if the Mas'heir that owned you before you were 'freed' into Starfleet ordered you to kill Kirk, would you do it?" he started to smirk, seeing her frown, "I think you rather would. You have been conditioned your entire life to serve, to obey, to follow the orders of your master. That will _never_ go away," he eyed her, stepping closer, not seeing Spock start to move across the room at what he was saying, at how it was making Cora look down, reminding him too much of when Uhura had spoken to her in the Academy, reminding her of her place, "You speak of freedom, yet you are still nothing but a _slave_. You follow the orders of a captain instead of a master, you obey the rules of Starfleet instead of the will of the Mas'heirs, you do as commanded and liken yourself to a freed woman yet you have merely exchanged one chain for another. Even your Vulcan controls you…"

"Enough," Spock cut in, appearing at Cora's side, stepping in front of her to block her vision of Khan. He knew the man was trying to manipulate Cora, he knew, logically, that it would not work, Uhura had tried the same and HE had been able to help her through it, he had spent years making sure she would _never_ see herself as a slave again, but Khan was bringing up everything she had always had a fear of.

"Ooh," Khan let out a laugh, "That sounded_ angry_, Spock," he eyed the man, "That was not the way the Vulcans would have you react to bait."

"You threaten my mate," Spock cut in, breathing heavily, feeling anger coursing through him, an anger that he couldn't hide from Cora as he heard her gasp behind him, feeling it clearly, feeling his desire to protect her, to get her away, to stop Khan talking, to...comfort her in a rather large way when he had gotten her alone, "Any Vulcan would react the same."

"No…" Khan shook his head, seeming as though he were tsking him again, "This is quite the _human_ reaction," he observed, "Oh that is wonderful," he laughed as Spock tensed even more, "Half human, half Vulcan. It's no wonder you took an _Empathic_ for your mate."

"Who I took as my mate and why is _no_ business of yours," he turned, feeling the desire to let Khan out of the cell merely so he could stop the man talking racing through him, "Cora," he turned to lead her out, his body stiff.

"That's it," Khan shouted, "Command your little slave. She'll do your bidding won't she?"

Spock stopped, ready to turn and confront the man once more, when Cora took his hand and pulled him out of the room.

"Do not do that!" Spock yanked his hand away from her, feeling her trying to calm him down...

But his heart was racing too fast, his blood pumping, his body heaving with the strain of holding back. Cora was trying to soothe his anger and he did not want that. The more he tried to repress it, the stronger it came back. And if she touched him...he was going to lose complete control of himself. He could feel it, even then, the desire to grab her and just...kiss her, hold her close, not let her go, bring her closer and closer...

He closed his eyes, shaking his head fiercely, if she touched him...he wouldn't be able to stop himself. He _didn't_ want this to be the way it happened, with him angry, with his anger driving him to do it. Cora had...changed him. He knew, had she been an ordinary human, his mind wouldn't care, he'd see it as his Vulcan drive to be with his human mate, and he'd allow it to take hold of him. But Cora was an Empathic, emotion and physical touch were FAR more important to her than a human. This, what he felt himself losing control of not doing, was something _sacred_ to her people...he could NOT let it be tainted by the Pon Farr.

But she couldn't touch him.

He'd lose complete control if she did.

"But Spock…" she began, holding up her hands in surrender.

She didn't know what else to do. He was angry, SO angry, more angry than she'd felt him over even the loss of his planet and she didn't know why. Khan's words had been harsh, yes, full of malice and manipulations but she felt...oddly enough...ok about it. It hadn't affected her like she knew it would have, and had, in the past. She knew Khan was trying to manipulate her and she knew his words were just that, words said to try and get to her. It didn't mean she _listened_, it didn't mean she _believed_ them.

She knew she was not exactly a slave to Stafleet, Spock had ensured she stopped thinking of it that way ages ago. She knew she was not controlled by Spock but was…quite the opposite. She had found that _she_ had a more profound affect on_ him_ and the way he lived his life than he did on her. Empathics were naturally feeling, they were emotional and based their actions on feeling. She had grown stronger for knowing Spock and she was always trying to please him and make him proud, that had not changed, that would never change, that was the way her people were. But Spock…he had also started to change, in small ways, being more open around her, touching her just a little more, kissing her more than just touching fingers. HE was the one willing to 'break' rules if it meant protecting her and doing what he could to see her safe and happy. Her happiness meant more to him than his life.

She didn't understand why he was so angry over what Khan had said, hardly any of it was actually hurtful. She knew Spock had gotten over his half-human conundrum and accepted that side of him, he knew how the mating between them worked better than her, there was no logical reason for him to be so angry and upset.

And he knew it too.

All the words Khan had said were more directed at Cora, which meant, logically, _she_ should be upset not him, the words at him were hardly offensive, hardly should have incited such an anger in him. But…he found it was hard to maintain rational thought at the moment. All he saw was Cora standing before another man, the man being harsh to her, speaking vile words that probably weren't all that vile considering what Cora had encountered all her life, and he just…he saw her upset even in the minutest amount and went after the man.

He was angry that Khan would try to bait his mate, manipulate her, use her to get to all of them, accuse her of things she would never do. It was…not like him to get _this_ angry over just mere spoken words.

And now he was getting even more angry _at_ Cora for trying to calm him down. It was…it was the Pon Farr he knew. The battle with the Kilngons, it had excited him, excited the 'bloodlust' and fever that came with the anger the Pon Farr could induce. It wasn't anger per say, it was more a heightened passion. That passion could go towards anger and battle or…be reserved for his mate. He had already refused to force that on Cora, had hoped that he would be able to control the urges and the heightened emotions.

He had been doing well, in his mind at least, till the Klingons attacked.

Being in the middle of that battle, attacking the enemy, fighting, defending his mate…it had incited all the emotion that the Pon Farr already heightened, it made it almost unbearable to deal with returning to the Enterprise with no release for his anger and aggression. It made him more…aware of Cora, with the battle behind him and the urges of Pon Farr even worse, he was having difficulty being away from her like he had tried to do before the Klingons, tried to keep distant, but now…he couldn't be apart from her, he couldn't make himself send her away from him and he was just getting angrier about it.

He…wanted Cora, badly, but he refused to let the Pon Farr be the reason for them being united in that way. And with all the emotions building up, every little thing set him off. It was like he was full of flames that were eating him from the inside and it was getting worse. The Klingon battle had made it all the worse to endure.

"Do not try to calm me Cora," he said, his voice shaking as he tried to control his…not anger.

No, now it was…shifting, as it always did when it was him and Cora alone, it was…he WANTED her to touch him, but he knew if she did, whether to try and show support or try to help his emotions it would send him over the edge. He couldn't…he couldn't be near her right now. Seeing Khan attacking her verbally, feeling the need to defend her and protect her and be there for her…it was making him think of her, it was making him long for her and focus on her and he _couldn't_. Not now, the_ worst_ time to feel such things and it just kept building.

From the way her hair glowed in the lights of the hall, standing out against the stark whiteness, her pale skin so soft, her eyes glowing in their teal color, brought out by the uniform she wore. She was covered, long sleeved, black leggings, black boots, barely only her hands and neck and face visible but the uniform hardly hid her figure and he forced his eyes to stop trailing down her body as they had been.

He…he had to get away from her.

He turned and stalked towards the turbolift, Cora running after him, "Spock wait!" she called, "Please, whatever it was that I did, I offer my apologies..." she reached out to try to take his arm once more.

But he pulled it away as though he'd been burned, and he had, in the most…pleasant way he'd ever experienced, but he couldn't do it, he would NOT let the Pon Farr win, "Leave me alone!" he snapped at her, hitting the button to the lift, forcing himself to look away as she stepped back, startled and hurt at his shout.

He had _never_ shouted at her like that before.

He felt terrible but…he couldn't do that to her. The lift doors closed and started to move, taking him away from her and…it _hurt_. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, it hurt to even think...it felt like his entire body was on pins and needles as the humans would say, tingling but not in a good way, making his limbs feel heavier and heavier the further away he got from Cora. He let out a breath, falling back against the back of the turbolift, panting, pressing a shaking hand to his face as he closed his eyes, not even noticing how his hand was still shaking, how could he when the rest of him was shaking too from the effort it had taken to step away from Cora. He shook his head, trying in vain to get control of himself. But it was hard when the only thing he wanted to do was just…

He swallowed hard, shaking his head even more fiercely. He turned, looking to the side before he jabbed a hand out, punching the wall of the lift once, twice, four times, needing_ something_, some small way to vent his frustrations.

He just…didn't know what to do and he was running out of options and time.

Spock stepped out of the turbolift, his hands clasped behind him, his body more tense than it had ever been, just as Kirk stepped onto the Bridge, "Captain on the bridge," Sulu announced.

"ETA on the incoming ship?" Kirk demanded, moving to the chair.

"Three seconds, sir."

"Shields."

"Aye, Captain," Sulu nodded just as a large ship, at least three times as large as the Enterprise, appeared before them.

Uhura glanced over at her controls when a signal went off, from having been watching Spock as the man turned and took a seat at his post, just as the doors opened and Cora entered, the girl seeming almost near tears as she glanced at Spock, who kept his back to her, before getting back to her job, "They're hailing us, sir," she reported.

"On screen," Kirk ordered, "Broadcast shipwide for the record."

They waited and, a moment later, Admiral Marcus appeared on the viewscreen, "Captain Kirk."

"Admiral Marcus," he greeted, "I wasn't excepting you. That's a hell of a ship you got there."

"And I wasn't expecting to get word that you'd taken Harrison into custody, in violation of your orders."

"Well, we had to improvise when our warp core unexpectedly malfunctioned," he eyed Marcus a moment, "But you already know that, sir."

"I don't take your meaning," Marcus stiffened.

"That's why you're here isn't? To assist with our repairs. Why else would a head of Starfleet _personally_ come to the edge of the Neutral Zone? And before you answer, Admiral," he cut in, seeing the man starting to speak, "You would do well to remember WE are the ship with the Empathic," he gestured back at Cora…only to frown, seeing how upset she looked. He glanced between her and Spock a moment before shaking his head, he'd deal with that later, "Cora?"

Cora blinked and looked at him before taking a breath and stepping up beside the chair, focusing on her duty to her crew, needing and welcoming the distraction for the moment. It was not...healthy for an Empathic to bury their emotions or to try and repress them, it tended to make them physically ill when it happened. She _should_ be fine though, she wasn't forcing them down or trying to push them away just...not thinking of them at the moment. She WOULD deal with them later, with them and Spock and his actions, but for now...the Enterprise needed her abilities.

"He is well aware our warp core malfunctioned," she agreed, the stiffening before was indicative of that.

"Captain, they're scanning our ship," Sulu reported.

"Is there something I can help you find, sir?" Kirk turned his sight back on the Admiral.

"Where is your prisoner Kirk?" the man demanded.

"Per Starfleet regulation, I'm planning on returning Khan to Earth to stand trial."

"Well, shit," the man sighed, hearing Kirk call him 'Khan' instead of Harrison, "You talked to him. Exactly what I was hoping to spare you from."

"But not for the reason you would have us believe," Cora cut in, "You wish us not to know what your plans were sir."

"Damn it," he muttered, "He even got to YOU too? Aren't you Empathics supposed to be foolproof?"

Cora frowned, the entire crew falling silent at that sort of...slight against her, "I assure you, sir," she spoke, a slight edge in her voice, "My abilities are operating at maximum efficiency, there is not a single person in the Universe that can fool an Empathic. To quote Captain Kirk, you would do well to remember that…as it applies to you as well sir. YOU cannot fool me any more than Khan can. So I would suggest you do not try."

Uhura and Kirk smirked at that, they had been working tirelessly to build up Cora's 'backbone.' Spock had done a hell of a job building up her confidence in herself and her sense of self-worth in the Academy, but…they wanted to make sure she'd be able to 'stick up for herself' when others came around. They wanted her to be able to fight back, to talk back, to argue even more than Spock had managed to get her to do. They wanted her to be as strong as she could be, because…they had no doubt, one day, she really _would_ try to ask the Fleet for another attempt to free Hestia, and she would need all the confidence, strength, and argument in the world. To see her, their quiet Empathic, standing there, talking back to one of the heads of the Fleet with…a little bit of sass…was worth it.

Their little girl was growing up so fast!

The rest of the crew merely eyed Marcus as the man frowned, all of them now aware that HE had been trying to manipulate the situation and make it appear as though THEY were being manipulated. Kirk, however, and Cora and Spock, knew that both sides were trying to do that, manipulate them, yet they were all three prepared to not believe either side.

Cora may have sensed that Khan was telling the truth at times, but that didn't mean the truth didn't have an ulterior motive behind it. Finding out she was an Empathic meant Khan HAD to tell the truth, otherwise there wouldn't have been a snowball's chance in hell that they'd believe a word he'd say. They knew the man was just hoping that, in doing so, she wouldn't look further into his emotions, but she did. The crew really _was_ her family and she would protect them from any danger she could.

"The truth would be appreciated, Admiral," Kirk added.

Marcus sighed, "I took tactical a risk when I woke that bastard up. Believing that a superior intelligence could help us protect ourself from whatever came after us next. But I made a _mistake_. And now the blood of everybody he's killed is on _my_ hands. So I'm asking you...give him to me, so I can end what I started."

Kirk smirked, not even needing to ask to know the man was lying, "Cora, why don't you give him an example of how 'efficient' your abilities really are."

Cora nodded, "It was not a tactical risk, you were well aware who Khan was when you opened him," Cora countered the man's words, able to determine that from his expressions, from the tone of his voice, "You did so because you knew of his superior intelligence. What you are asking is not to protect the Universe. You want him so that he cannot tell others what you did and what you were planning to do."

She frowned, she was starting to feel that…he would not want THEM to be able to tell what he had done either.

"Thank you Cor," Kirk winked at her, smirking when he saw Spock glare at him, served the pointy-eared bastard right, he could tell that when Cora was upset for no apparent reason it was because of Spock, especially when it was _Spock_ who ignored her being upset, normally the man would be the first one to try and comfort her, "What exactly would you like me to do with the rest of his crew, sir?" he continued, "Fire at them? At the Klingons and end 72 lives? Start a war in process?"

"He _put_ those people in those torpedoes!" Marcus argued, but _they_ knew it really had been to smuggle them out, for whatever reason or purpose, whether because it was Khan's 'family' or his army, they didn't really care, the point was, they knew WHY the bodies were in the torpedoes, "I simply didn't want to burden you with knowing what was inside of them."

"You seem to forget our Empathic once more, sir," Kirk cut in, "You should have realized putting her beside a_ living_ thing would clue her in to something living being_ inside_ them."

"You saw what this man can do all by himself," Marcus continued, "Can you imagine what would happen if we woke up the rest of his crew?! What else did he tell you? That he's a peace-keeper? He's playing you, son. Don't you see that?"

"Yes sir, actually we did see that," Kirk rolled his eyes, "Again, Empathic," he gestured at Cora, "She was assigned to this ship for a _reason_ sir, it would be...illogical of us not to utilize her when events such as these arise. We had Cora sit in on the discussions and, as we have warned you already sir, she is _well aware_ of any lies Khan may have told us. Which are, surprisingly, few."

"His intent_ is_ ill," Cora added, "But what he told us IS the truth sir."

"Look," Marcus sighed, "Khan and his crew were condemned to death as war criminals. And now it is our duty to carry out that sentence. Before anybody else dies because of him. I'm going to ask you again. One last time, son. Lower your shields. Tell me where he is."

"That does not sound like asking," Cora remarked, but Kirk held up his hand.

He was silent a moment, "He's in Engineering, sir," he answered, "But I'll have him moved to the Transporter room right away."

Cora frowned at the lie, as did Spock.

"I'll take it from here," Marcus cut the transmission.

"Do _not_ drop those shields, Mr. Sulu," Kirk ordered, getting up.

"Aye Captain," Sulu nodded.

"Captain," Spock stepped over, though he stopped a few feet away from Cora, "Given your awareness of Khan's true location in the med-bay, may I know the details of your plan?"

"I told Marcus we're bringing a fugitive back to Earth, that's what we're going to do," was all Kirk said, "Mr. Chekov, can we warp?" he called into the comm..

"Sir, if we go to warp, we run ze risk of seriously damaging ze core," Chekov replied.

"Can we do it?"

"Technically yes, but I would not adwise it, Captain."

"Noted. Mr. Sulu," he looked over, sitting down, "Set course for Earth."

"Yes, sir," Sulu put in the commands.

"Punch it," Kirk ordered, and the ship flew into warp, trying to escape the USS Vengeance that Marcus was on, "Lieutenant Uhura, contact Starfleet, tell them we were pursued into the Neutral Zone by an unmarked Federation ship."

"Comms. are down, sir," Uhura reported.

"Permission to come on the Bridge!" Wallace shouted as she ran over to the doors.

"Dr. Marcus," Kirk stood, glancing over at Cora as she moved to stand by Uhura instead of Spock, yet another indication that something was wrong.

"He's going to catch up to us and when he does the _only_ thing that is going stop him destroying this ship is me," Wallace told him immediately, rushing up to him, "So you have to let me talk to him."

"Carol, we're at _warp_. He can't catch up with us."

"Yes he can," she insisted, "He's been developing a ship that has volatile warp capabilities and…"

"Captain," Sulu cut in, "I'm getting a reading I don't understand…"

The ship suddenly jolted, sending them all flying to the ground as it was attacked mid-warp, all of them watching, stunned, as Marcus and his ship caught up to them, _mid-warp_, and fired, till they literally fell out of the warp, into space.

"Where are we?" Kirk called as they straightened themselves.

"237,000 kilometers from Earth," Sulu reported.

"Damage report!" Kirk shouted, seeing Cora fall to her knees, and grab her stomach, closing her eyes, turnign a bit green as she seemed about to be sick...and he knew when she opened her eyes to reveal tears in them...that some of the crew had just died.

"Weapons are not working," one of the women called, "We're defenseless."

"Sir we have a bulkhead breach," another added.

"Where's the damage?" he asked.

"Major hull damage, Captain," a man replied.

The ship shook as it was fired on again, Cora wincing as Uhura fell beside her, putting an arm around her as she felt the others all throughout the ship injured and others dying.

"Evasive maneuvers, get us to the Earth, right now!" Kirk ordered.

"Captain, stop," Wallace grabbed his arm, "Everybody on this ship is going to die, if you don't let me speak to him!"

Kirk looked at her.

"She is…speaking the truth," Cora whispered, "He will not listen to _us_."

Kirk sighed, "Uhura, hail them."

Uhura nodded and pressed the controls, nodding to Wallace to speak, "Sir, it's me, it's Carol!"

A moment later the viewscreen flickered on and Marcus was there, staring at her in shock, "What are you _doing_ on that ship?!"

"I heard what you said," Wallace continued instead, "That you made a mistake and now you're doing everything you can to fix it. But, dad..." her voice broke, "I don't believe that the man who raised me is capable of destroying a ship full of innocent of people. And…" she blinked, feeling tears in her eyes as she swallowed hard, Cora closing her eyes as she felt tears prickling her as well at the crack in Wallace's voice, "If I'm wrong about that, then you're going to have to do it with me onboard."

But Marcus just smirked, "Actually Carol, I won't. You or the Empathic."

Cora's eyes flew open at that, staring at the man in alarm.

"She's too valuable to the Fleet and you're my daughter," Marcus said and, before their eyes, transport lights began to surround Cora and Wallace.

"Jim…" Wallace looked at him, alarmed.

"Can we intercept the transport signal?" Kirk looked at them.

"No, sir!" a man reported.

"Cora!" Spock shouted, rushing to her…but he was too late…the transport kicked in...

She and Wallace were gone.

A/N: Poor Spock, he yells at her and then loses her :( But you know what they say...distance makes the heart grow fonder ;) ;)

I can say we saw a bit here with her speaking to Khan but...we'll soon see how not-defenseless Cora really is ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Oh they'll find out...very, VERY soon what's up with Spock ;) And the reactions will be, interesting :)

Definitely a bit of conflict between Cora and Khan, even more here :) I don't think he likes that she can see through him }:)

Lol, I like the 'bad guys' too, -cough-Loki-cough- ^-^

Oh quite a few things will come to light, definitely, especially something interesting about Cora as well ;)


	11. Rescue Attempts

Rescue Attempts

"No!" Kirk cried.

"Captain Kirk," Marcus smirked, "Without Authorization, and in league with the fugitive John Harrison, you went rogue in enemy territory. Leaving me no choice...but to hunt you down and destroy you," he looked to the side, at his own crew, "Lock phasers."

"Wait, sir, wait!" Kirk dashed to the front of the viewscreen, standing before it.

"I'll make this quick, target all our torpedoes on the Enterprise Bridge."

"Sir, my crew was just...just following my orders. I take...I take full responsibility for my actions. But they were mine and they were mine alone. If I transmit Khans location to you now, all that I ask is that you spare them. Please, sir. I'll do _anything_ you want. Just let them live."

"That's a hell of an apology," Marcus nodded, "But if it is any conciliation, as I'm sure your Empathic would have told you, I was never going to spare your crew. Fire at will!" he ordered, cutting the transmission.

Kirk stood there, in shock, before turning to the crew, "I'm sorry…" he breathed, all of them able to see the Vengeance powering up behind them.

...all of them except Spock, who hadn't looked away from where Cora had been standing.

~8~

"No, let me go!" Wallace shouted as she appeared on the transport pad of the Vengeance, Cora beside her, only to be grabbed by guards, "Stop!"

"Carol Wallace," Cora spoke as she too was apprehended, "Please calm down…"

"They're about to destroy the Enterprise!" Wallace struggled.

"No they are not," Cora smiled, sensing a very familiar presence onboard the Vengeance…moments before the ship powered down.

"What just happened?" Wallace asked as she looked up at the darkening lights, feeling the men who were holding her stiffen. It seemed they were even more alarmed than she was at the power cut.

Cora just smiled, which made one of the men round on her for spotting it, "Did you do this?!" the guard demanded.

Cora blinked, "I am an Empathic, not telepathic. I cannot turn the lights off," she looked around, feeling the confusion of the men in the room. They were not expecting this to happen but she could also feel a very familiar presence in the belly of the ship that was feeling enormous satisfaction. She had sensed it the moment she had appeared on the teleport pad, she knew he would do something, he had felt very determined and she was pleased to see that his efforts had paid off.

"Come on," one of the men called to the others, "We need to get her to the captain," he nodded at Wallace.

"What about this one?" another gestured at Cora.

"Take her too, we can't risk her wandering the ship or being left anywhere unattended."

Cora barely managed to contain her smile at that, at how they thought she'd be less of a threat surrounded by people whose emotions she could manipulate instead of on her own, isolated.

~8~

"Their weapons are powered down, sir," Sulu called.

"Enterprise, can you hear me?" Scotty's voice called over the comms..

"Scotty!" Kirk laughed.

"Guess what I found behind Jupiter."

"You're on that ship?"

"I snuck on it and, seeing as I've just committed an act of treason against a Starfleet Admiral, I'd really like to get off this bloody ship. Now beam me out!"

"You're miracle worker, we're little low on power right now. Standby, standby."

"What do you mean low on power? What happened to the Enterprise?!" there as a sound of a door opening, "I'll call you back," before the transmission ended.

"Scotty?" Kirk called, before sighing, he glanced back at Spock, seeing the man now staring at the viewscreen, at the Vengeance, "Spock," and still staring, "Spock?" and staring, "Commander," and finally looking at Kirk, "Our ship, how is she?"

"Our options are limited, Captain," Spock said, though Kirk frowned, hearing a strain in his voice, "We cannot fire and we cannot flee."

"There is one more option. Uhura, when you get Scotty back, patch him through."

"Yes, sir," Uhura nodded.

"Mr. Spock, you have the comm.," Kirk called before leaving the room.

"Captain, I strongly object…" Spock began.

"To what?" Kirk glanced at him as he left the Bridge, Spock following, "I haven't said anything yet."

"Since we cannot take the ship from the outside, the only way we can take it is within and, as large boarding party would be detected, it is optimum for you take as few members of crew as possible. You will meet Resistance, requiring personnel with advanced combat abilities and innate knowledge of that ship. This indicates that you plan to align with Khan, the very man we were sent here to destroy."

"I'm not aligning with him, I'm using him. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"An Arabic proverb attributed to a prince who has been betrayed and decapitated by his own subjects."

"Still, it's a hell of quote."

"I will go with you, Captain."

"No, I need you on the Bridge."

"I MUST go with you Captain," Spock cut in, "Not only is it my function aboard this ship to advise you making the wisest decisions possible, something I firmly believe you are incapable doing in this moment, but…"

"You're right!" Kirk interrupted, "What I am about to do it doesn't make any sense. It's not logical, it is a _gut feeling_. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I only know what I_ can_ do. The Enterprise and her crew needs someone in that chair who knows he's doing. And it's not me," he let out a breath at having to admit that, "It's _you_, Spock."

"You did not let me finish Captain," Spock continued, Kirk rolling his eye at how everything he'd said just went right over the Vulcan's head, "Not only is that my function…but they have my MATE," he reminded the man, "They took _my mate_ away from me. I want her back."

"_Now_ you want her back?" Kirk scoffed.

"I do not understand your tone," Spock's eyes narrowed, as though he DID understand it.

"Let me tell you something Spock, Cora is important to this ship, and not just because she's an Empathic. She's important to ALL of us, not just you and when one of the crew hurts her, they hurt all of us. And we will protect her from that as best we can, even if it means protecting her from YOU."

Spock's lips pursed, "You are implying I would _hurt_ her?"

"You HAVE hurt her Spock!" Kirk nearly shouted, "My God! How does your relationship with her even work?! Does it even compute for you that Cora was upset before?"

"I was…aware."

"Then why didn't you _do_ something about it?" Kirk glared, "What did you even do to upset her in the first place because I swear to God, Spock, for HER to be in tears because of YOU...it has to be worse than her life on Hestia."

Spock actually flinched at that, at the comparison that he had hurt her worse than the Mas'heirs had.

"So you tell me Spock," Kirk continued, "What the hell is going on with you?"

Spock swallowed, glancing around to see it was just them in the hall, "It is not a matter we Vulcans speak of openly," he began, his voice quiet, restrained, a though struggling to even get this out, "It is a deeply personal matter not known to off-worlders. It is shielded with ritual and custom shrouded in antiquity. Only the medical officers of the work we find ourselves in are aware of it."

"Bones knows?" Kirk frowned, sure that the man would have told him.

"He is aware but does not comprehend what has happened," Spock answered, "There is a…cycle…in Vulcan biology, a time, every seven years, where our logic is ripped away from us. I had hoped that, in being half human, I would be spared this, but…the ancient drives are too strong."

"What is it Spock?" Kirk asked, for something to be affecting him this badly…so badly that he was even acting out against _Cora_…it had to be serious.

"It is the Pon Farr," he looked down, not making eye contact, looking down at his hand as he moved it in front of him, eyeing it as it shook, "It is the biological urge for my people to…mate."

"I thought you and Cora were already mated," Kirk shook his head.

"We have begun the process but the final step, the…culmination…has not yet occurred," Spock admitted, feeling remarkably uncomfortable to have to speak of this to Kirk instead of Cora first.

"And this Pon Farr," Kirk began, "It's trying to get you to…do the deed?"

"In your terms, yes," Spock looked away, "It is a time in our biology when our emotions begin to get the better of us. Our…most extreme emotions, such as passion and anger, arise within us. If we do not find release from this buildup…" he looked at Kirk, "We shall die."

"Is there anything you can do to stop it?"

"There are three ways to end the Pon Farr. Through combat, to the death," he explained, "To let out our…aggressions. Through deep and intense meditation, which is difficult and not a path many Vulcans have succeeded in in the past. And…" he hesitated, "Joining with our mate."

Kirk blinked a few times, "So either you kill someone or you…" he trailed off, not quite feeling comfortable talking about THAT with the Vulcan.

"Yes," Spock cut in, "But Jim I…" he swallowed, "I cannot do that to Cora. I do not wish to…force her to feel an obligation to…"

"Save your life?" Kirk offered.

Spock glared at him, "Contrary to your thoughts Captain, I care for Cora more than _any_ on this ship. I will not have her hurt or drive her to a point she is not ready to arrive at."

"Let's think about this logically Spock," Kirk cut in, "She's your mate. It's the last step in the process. You don't do it, you have to KILL someone. If you can't, you DIE, and then Cora may very well die too!" Kirk shook his head, "And you're already hurting her Spock, by pushing her away. Tell me…does she know about Pon Farr?"

"No," Spock admitted, he had never spoken of it with her.

"Then how the hell do you know what she's ready for?" he countered, "You may be able to read her mind some of the time, but something like this?" he shook his head, "It's not always about what you think, it's about how you feel," he gave Spock one more look, "You think about that because I'm going with Khan and we're bringing her and Carol back and when we do...you tell her what's going on. Because you can sure as hell bet I'm going to tell her about it."

"Captain..."

"She deserves to know."

And with that, Kirk turned and walked away, Spock standing stiffly, watching him go.

~8~

Cora glanced at Wallace as they were led through the halls, their hands now bound behind their backs. She could sense the woman's fear, her concern, how much she did NOT want to go to the Bridge and confront her father, "It will be alright Carol Wallace," she murmured as Wallace looked over at her.

Cora just turned her attention on the men, it seemed it was not just Khan who was underestimating her. She could tell, from the moment she met Admiral Marcus, that he was not fond of Empathics, that he did not see the value in them but just that they were just a waste of Starfleet's resources. She would prove him wrong, she would prove them all wrong.

She paused in thought a moment, wondering where this was coming from…before she smiled, knowing it was Spock. Whatever was going on with him, no matter what it was, it would not deter her from helping him or in finding out what was wrong with him in the first place. She had felt it in him, it wasn't just anger. She'd felt it the moment she'd touched his arm, she'd gotten such a shock over that that she hadn't been able to fully comprehend what it was she was feeling until just now. But she understood it now, it wasn't anger. It wasn't anger at her. It was an anger at the situation, it was frustration, but a different sort of frustration, one she had never before from him.

She had felt it rolling off him in waves, growing stronger and stronger every moment she was around him. It felt like being on fire, like there were flames racing through her blood, and it only calmed when she was around him, when she was touching him, when he was near. But, at the same time, the more she was around him, the worse they grew, the more powerful, more encompassing, more consuming. For all Spock's efforts in burying and hiding those feelings…they still leaked through in large bursts though…she feared it might be a sign, that it was happening so frequently so suddenly, that his restraint and control was growing weaker.

She knew what it was though if it wasn't anger…it was desire.

Empathics were naturally impulsive, given the way they ran on emotion. She knew, she had heard tales of some who were not a part of the breeding programs implemented by the Mas'heirs…or at least the ones that had not had their 'partner' selected for them but found them on accident…that Empathics did not naturally wait so long to take a…mate, to use the Vulcan term. They didn't ever wait more than a couple months and Spock…he was putting it off twice as long now. When an Empathic connected on such a deep and emotional level with another, they could tell quite quickly if that other person was a suitable 'spouse' for them. Sometimes bonds would form, empathetic bonds between two Empathics, that were merely friendship, but they could always tell when a particular bond was MORE than friendship.

It was part of an Empathic's nature to not waste much time to be with their partner, because being with them meant everything to an Empathic. She was fairly certain she had known years ago that Spock was the one for her, she just had to be patient for _him_ to come to the same realization, for him to be comfortable enough with her, and to see if he would _want_ to be hers as much as she wanted to be his. She was thrilled when he had begun the mating with her, but now…she couldn't understand why he was taking so long to complete it! She knew what the next step was for him and his people, yet he kept putting it off. It was starting to frustrate her. She could feel his longing and his desire for her, but he did not make any sort of inkling or any sort of move towards her.

Well, she would have to see about that when this is over. And, speaking of…

She glanced over at Wallace, "Carol Wallace," she whispered to her, she could sense another presence encroaching upon Montgomery Scott and she needed to help him.

Wallace look at her, "What is it?" she asked quietly, knowing that the guards could likely hear them but that they couldn't exactly stop them talking.

"I am sorry," she whispered, before closing her eyes, feeling the stirring inside her of the emotion she wanted to protect, opening her eyes to see everyone, including Wallace, fall to the ground, completely knocked out. She sighed, kneeling down, shifting beside a guard and grabbing a small device from around his belt, clicking it and releasing her wrists from their confinement.

She turned to Wallace, kneeling beside her as she unlocked the woman's own wrists, before reaching out to place a gentle two fingers on Wallace's forehead. The woman's eyes snapped open as she sat up with a jolt, "What happened!?" she looked around, she'd been…walking and then the next thing she knew she was waking up on the ground.

"Many apologies," Cora helped her stand, "I have not yet mastered targeting my abilities yet. In order to stop the guards, I had to put you to sleep as well."

Wallace glanced down at the men, just lying on the floor, asleep, "Impressive…" she breathed.

Her father was SO wrong about the Empathics. She'd heard him complain about the species enough times over the past years, especially when the Fleet decided to reimplement their past 'purchasing' of the 11th children of Hestia, she knew now it was because it would siphon expenses away from building the ship they were on, the Vengeance, but she could see how worth it it was. If Cora could send a handful of men to sleep, huge, strong men, without even moving or needing to do anything or unable to be stopped…she could only imagine what else the woman could do.

"We must go," Cora turned, starting to lead her in the opposite direction.

"Where?" Wallace jogged after her.

"To Engineering," Cora replied, not stopping her stride, "Montgomery Scott needs our help."

~8~

Kirk stepped into the med-bay, to see Khan sitting there rigidly, "Tell me everything you know about that ship."

Khan glanced at him, "Dreadnought Class, two times the size, three times the speed, advanced weaponry, modified for minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it is built solely for combat."

"I will do everything I can to make you answer for what you did. But right now I need your help."

"In exchange for what?"

"You said you'd do anything for your crew. I can guarantee their safety."

"Captain," Khan smirked, "You can't even guarantee safety of your own crew."

Kirk's jaw tensed as he looked at McCoy, sitting before a small ball of brown fur that Cora had gotten attached to in their last mission before Nibiru, "Bones, what are you doing with that Tribble?"

"Tribble's dead," McCoy answered, he'd been trying to save it, for Cora, "I'm injecting Khan's platelets into the deceased tissues of a necrotic host. Khan's cells regenerate like nothing I've ever seen, I want to know why."

Kirk nodded and looked at Khan, "You coming with me or not?"

Khan just smiled and stood.

Kirk's eyes narrowed as he watched the man head to the door before he made his way over to McCoy, "Did you find those scans for Spock?"

McCoy nodded, "His vitals are off the scale Jim," he answered, "His neural activity is going haywire, his system is_ flooding_ with adrenaline. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was…"

"Experiencing Pon Farr?" Kirk supplied as McCoy looked at him, alarmed.

"Don't tell me…"

Kirk nodded, "That's exactly what it is."

"My God man, do you know what this means?"

"Means he has a problem I_ wish_ I had," Kirk smirked, "Be with a girl or die, best incentive to…"

"Damn it Jim, this isn't a laughing matter!" McCoy stood, starting to hiss quietly to him, "That's only ONE way that it can go. If we can't get Cora back in time, if something, even the smallest thing, sets him off…he will _attack_ and he won't stop until he's killed someone! How he hasn't completely gone off and beaten your face in I have no idea."

"Because my face is too pretty to hit," he winked at McCoy, "Don't worry Bones," he slapped the man's arm, "We're going to get Cora back. It'll be fine."

"Yeah," McCoy muttered as Kirk walked out, "I somehow doubt that."

Kirk's plans never went to plan.

~8~

Spock stepped onto the Bridge to see Sulu turning the Enterprise to align with the Vengeance, as per Kirk's plan to fly out through space, right into the airlock of a hanger and into the Vengeance now that Mr. Scott was onboard the other ship and could open a path for them.

"Lieutenant," he moved over to Uhura, "From our current position, is it possible to establish contact with New Vulcan?"

Uhura gave him a tense look, clearly unhappy with him, "I'll do my best."

"Thank you," he nodded, doing his best to ignore her tone as he sat in the captain's chair. He took a breath, his gaze on the Vengeance, hoping that Cora would be alright and that Kirk would find her. He had been being truthful in that he had wanted to go because she was his mate, he…seeing her disappear before him, having her gone…it was…affecting him.

He was feeling torn, since the Pon Farr began, in having her close and wanting her far away to protect her from his advances. But, as always with her mere presence, she offered him a comfort. As though just being near her helped quell the anger that built even if it fanned the flames of the passion instead. He just…wanted her back.

He wanted his mate back at his side.

"Mr. Sulu," he began, "What is the status of the other ship?"

"Their systems are still offline, I'm aligning our ship now," Sulu reported.

"Scotty," they heard Kirk come over the comms., "How are we doing over there?"

"Captain, I wish had better news. They blocked our access to the ship's computer. They'll have full weapons in three minutes. Next time I won't be able to stop them destroying the Enterprise...standby."

"Commander," Sulu called, "Our trash exhaust is aimed at access port 101A of the other ship."

He nodded, opening the comms. more, "Captain, the ships are aligned."

"Copy that," Kirk replied, "Scotty?"

"I'm in the hangar, give me a minute," Scotty came on, "I'm running, standby. Whoa, whoa, whoa hold on there captain. This door is very wee, I'm mean, you know, small. It's 4 square meters tops. It's going to be like...jumping out of a moving car, off a bridge, into your shotglass."

"It's ok, I've done it before. Yeah, I was vertical, we jump down to a...it doesn't matter. Scotty!"

"Did you find the manual override?" Khan cut in.

"Manual override Scotty?"

"Not yet," Scotty reported, "Not yet"

"Captain," Spock spoke, "Before you launch, you should be aware that there is a considerable debris field between our ships."

"Spock, not now," Kirk cut him off, "Scotty, you good?"

"It's not easy, just…" Scotty panted, "Give me two seconds alright, you mad bastard."

"Tell me this going to work," McCoy remarked to Spock, entering the Bridge and sitting beside the man.

"I have neither the information or confidence to do so, doctor," Spock stated.

"Ok Captain, standby," Scotty called.

"Boy you're a real comfort," McCoy rolled his eyes at Spock, "What I wouldn't give for Red to be here right now."

"Me either," Spock added quietly.

McCoy glanced over to see that Spock's hands were clenching into fists and shaking. The Pon Farr was really starting to reach dangerous levels for Spock to be displaying outwards signs of it. But he knew...he couldn't even scan the man at the moment either, any indication that there was something wrong with Spock and...everything could be jeopardized. And, to be honest, he sort of wanted to see what the man would do. They were ALL aware, given his help on Nibiru, that the Vulcan was willing to bend rules for Cora...he could only imagine what rules the alien would break for her during Pon Farr and, dealing with Khan and Marcus...that might be JUST what they needed.

Spock would do anything to keep his mate safe and see her returned, and that meant keeping Kirk alive and safe as well.

"Come on, come on, come on, yes!" Scotty cheered, "Ok, ok I'm set to open the door."

"Spock, pull the trigger," Kirk ordered.

"Yes, captain," Spock nodded to himself, "Launching activation sequence on 3...2...1..."

They watched on the viewscreen as two figures shot out of the Enterprise and flew right for the Vengeance, "Sir, Kirk is heading for a collision at 0.432," Sulu reported.

"Captain, there is debris directly ahead," Spock called, keeping his eyes trained on the viewscreen, trying his best to keep himself distracted and focused on guiding Kirk and Khan instead of thinking about how THEY were going to get Cora and he wasn't. He trusted the captain to protect her, but…Khan was already proving his lack of care for her.

"Copy that," Kirk replied.

"Whoa, Jim!" McCoy shouted as Kirk's dot veered to the side to avoid the debris, "You're way off course."

"I know, I know, I can see that."

"Use the display compass, Captain," Sulu called, "You must correct precisely 37.243 degrees."

"Got it I'm working my way back. Scotty, are you going to be ready with that door? Right?" but there was silence, "Mr. Scott, where are you?"

~8~

Cora and Wallace crept slowly into the hangar of the Vengeance, to see Scotty standing before a control panel of sorts, his hands behind his back, his comm. on the ground beside him, a rather large man aiming a phaser at him. Wallace frowned, looking over to see a phaser discarded on one of the cargo boxes and moved to grab it…when Cora grabbed her hand shaking her head, not wanting her to fire at the man in the chance that she missed. Wallace nodded at Scotty, at the man threatening him, them too far away to hear what as being said but knowing that whatever it was was agitating Scotty, who kept glancing at the comm.. They could guess that he was doing something for Kirk and that the man was holding him up…literally and figuratively.

Cora put a finger to her lips and started to quietly make her way forward, allowing the minutest tendrils of emotion seep out of her and into the man, distraction, keeping him from noticing her behind him as she drew nearer. She saw Scotty's eyes focused on the man, unable to see her which was all the better, any reaction, even a small one could alert the man to her presence. As she approached, she could hear Kirk and Spock shouting over the comm., trying to get him to answer, thinking there was something wrong with the connection and she knew she had to be quick.

She reached out as soon as she was close enough and touched the man on the center of his back…the man stiffening for a moment, dropping his phaser…before keeling over to the side. It had to be physical touch this time, unlike in the halls. She could project the emotions to anyone surrounding her at once if she wished...but physical touch allowed her to be specific and only let one person feel what she wanted. It had been why she'd needed to touch Wallace to wake her up, not wanting to risk waking the other men by merely projecting to her. This was the only way to ensure Scotty wouldn't fall asleep as well.

Scotty stood there, staring at her with wide eyes, "Lassie you are a sight for sore eyes," he remarked, letting out a breath.

Cora smiled…before she frowned, "He has landed on your comm.," she pointed at the rather large, burly man now lying right on top of Scotty's comm..

"Eh," Scotty waved her off, "Captain Pretty Hair was being annoying," he shrugged, turning back to the controls to finish up.

Cora gestured Wallace over, the two of them struggling to even drag the man closer to the controls, grabbing a bit of rope that they could find to help keep themselves safe for this plan. They could see it now, Scotty's hand wrapped and tied in rope, and the fact that the controls were for the airlock…they could guess what was coming next.

~8~

"Captain, he can't seem to hear you," Uhura reported, "I'm working on getting his signal back. Standby."

"Damn it!" Kirk hissed a moment later.

Spock stiffened, "Captain, what is it?"

"My helmet was hit. Uhura, tell me you have Mr. Scott back."

"Not yet," Uhura worked frantically, "I'm still working on a signal. His communicator_ is_ working, I don't know why he isn't responding."

"Khan use evasive action, there is debris directly ahead," Spock called as a warning came up on the viewscreen.

"I see it…" Khan began…they watched as his dot flew to the side before it was hit by another piece of debris and he went offline.

"Mr. Sulu, did we lose Khan?"

"I don't know, Commander," Sulu checked, "I'm having trouble tracking him in all this debris."

"Was Khan hit?!" Kirk called.

"We are trying to find him now," Spock told him.

"Captain, you need to adjust your target destination 183 by 47.3 degrees," Sulu added.

"Spock, my display is dead, I'm flying blind," Kirk yelled.

"Captain, without your display compass hitting you target destination is mathematically impossible," Spock reported.

"Spock, if I get back, we really need to talk about your bedside manner," Kirk told him, "You may want to be more encouraging, if I miss, Cora's stuck there!"

"Commander, he's not going to make it," Sulu agreed.

"My display is still functional," Khan came back, "I see you Kirk. You're 200 meters ahead of me, my one o'clock. Cut to your left a few degrees and follow me."

"Scotty, we're getting close," Kirk yelled, "We need a warm welcome. Do you copy? Do you copy, Scotty?!"

"If you can hear us, Mr. Scott, open door in 10..." Spock began.

"Scotty!"

"9, 8, 7…"

"Mr. Scott where are you?"

"6."

"1800 meters," a man reported, "1600 meters…"

"Scotty, where are you?!" Kirk shouted.

"3…" Spock counted.

"Scotty please!"

"2…"

~8~

"Have you got him?" Cora looked at Wallace as she and the woman wrapped their hands in ties like Scotty had, each of them taking a hand of the unconscious man that Cora had knocked out.

"Yeah," she nodded, "Do it Scotty!"

Scotty hit a button just as they heard Spock shout, "Mr. Scott open the door," at the same time as Kirk ordered, "Open the door!"

They held their breath, holding on tightly as the doors opened and the air was sucked out…Kirk and another person flying in through the opening. Scotty struggled but hit the button again and closed the airlock door, Kirk and the man falling to the floor as they rolled over to them, coming to a stop only a few feet away.

"Welcome aboard," Scotty panted.

"Good to see you, Scotty," Kirk laughed, laying on his back a moment.

"Who is that?" Scotty eyed the second man who had already rolled onto his knees to look around.

"Khan," Cora answered, "His name is Khan, Montgomery Scott."

Kirk jerked up at the sound of her voice, "Cor!" he turned to her, rushing to hug her, "Boy do I have a few things to tell you about your pointy eared hobgoblin."

"Please refrain from calling him such names Captain Kirk," Cora frowned, "It is rude."

Kirk laughed and just hugged her again, "What are you two doing here?" he asked Wallace.

"She stopped the guards who were dragging us to see my father," Wallace explained, "Said a crew member was here and we found Mr. Scott."

"Call me Scotty," Scotty called.

"They'll know we're here," Khan cut in, "I know the best way to the Bridge."

And with that, he stood and led them off to the side of the hanger, Wallace and Scotty heading after him, Kirk moved to follow when Cora frowned and grabbed his arm, "What is it you wish to tell me?" she asked, sensing it was actually quite important to him.

Kirk just put his arm around her shoulder and led her off, "Cor...what do you know about Pon Farr?"

Cora froze.

A/N: One chapter left }:)

Lol, seems that Cora has been trying to respect Spock while he's respecting her ;) So I suppose that means Spock wouldn't really be influencing her to finish the mating after all. ...but who's to say Cora won't influence him a little? ;) I hope that you liked the little reveal to Kirk and the revelation with Bones, I sort of wanted them to be the ones to find out before Cora, no idea why though lol. Next chapter though...oh boy, not just for Spock and Khan but, well...Cora's on the Vengeance with Khan now isn't she? }:)

But here's another question...why did she freeze? Does she know? O.O And if she does...what does she know? And how? }:)

On a lighter note...lol, Cora wanted the Tribble :) I could see her wanting one as a pet of sorts ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, the Pon Farr would have to be wrapped up soon, the story's over tomorrow :) I had it all planned out, no worries, how it would progress and when things would happen, just enough to be a running subplot for the entire movie ;)

I do have a vague idea for a Khan/OC in mind yup :) It's more of a general 'I want to do an OC, I have a basic idea of who she is/where she is' but nothing really beyond that :) I've found though that I tend to end up with ideas for more OCs as I write (what I think to be) the last installment of an OC series in a fandom. So probably in the middle of writing the Kirk/OC I'll end up with a Khan/OC more firmly thought up :)

I'm glad you didn't expect it and that you're enjoying Cora's sass :) Tomorrow we'll get more than just sass out of her ;)


	12. Completion

Completion

Cora stood off to the side as Kirk and Khan, now out of their suits, gathered around a small box that Kirk had brought with him, the man taking out a set of phasers, four of them, handing them to Scotty, Khan, himself and Wallace, knowing that Cora would refuse to touch one. She just...she was still in shock from what Kirk had told her, that Spock was apparently experiencing Pon Farr. Well, he hadn't really TOLD her that but, she DID have a brain, she could read between the lines. Why else would he bring it up and refer to Spock so much if the Vulcan _wasn't_ experiencing it right now? And it...shocked her. From what she knew of Pon Farr, she, as an Empathic, should have been able to feel what was happening, what was changing inside him. Though she suspected that it was to be expected, she HAD felt him trying to block his emotions from her and hide them. He'd done an exceptional job and, she supposed, not knowing it was Pon Farr at the time she hadn't made the connection when she DID feel something odd off him.

She let out a breath, Pon Farr. The mating cycle of the Vulcans where, once every seven years, they felt the urge to, well, mate. She knew about it, she knew quite a bit about it, why it happened, how it happened, what needed to happen to end it, and what could happen if not dealt with in time. She hadn't been completely open with Spock about one rather small thing.

She'd been in contact with his future self.

Only periodically, from time to time, just wanting to check in and see how he was doing and how New Vulcan was thriving. Just because he wasn't HER Spock didn't mean she didn't care for him in some way. He was a future Spock and those were Spock's people he was helping to take care of and what was important to him was important to her. So she managed to contract him a few times and they'd talk. She found she could actually speak to him about a few things easier than she could Spock, mostly because he seemed to, with age, be more open and expressive than the current Spock. He didn't seem as embarrassed or uncomfortable when she'd ask him a question or two that she KNEW would make her Spock flustered.

One topic had been Pon Farr, which had been brought up when he had appeared during one conversation rather weary and explained that a Pon Farr had turned rather deadly recently and they'd lost a Vulcan because of it. With their people being so few, it hurt them all to know if even one member of the species died. She had been confused and asked what the Pon Farr was and he'd been very delicate in explaining it to her, but she understood. She knew about it, she knew what it was, and now that she knew Spock was experiencing it and trying to keep it from her...she was confused.

Why keep something like THAT from her?

She supposed she'd have to talk to him about it, see his reasoning and logic behind it...or prove to him that his 'logic' wasn't quite so logical as she knew that Pon Farr often led the Vulcans to lose their rational and logical thought. In HIS mind his reason might appear to make sense, but to her...she couldn't think of a single reason why he'd keep it from her. Or why he was resisting it, of all the possible outcomes she'd rather the one that involved her as his mate come into play than the others, especially because...

"It's locked to stun," Kirk spoke, cutting off her thoughts as she looked over.

"Theirs won't be," Khan reminded him.

"Try not to get shot," Kirk glared, before giving them a nod to head out after Khan.

~8~

"Commander," Uhura called on the Bridge of the Enterprise, looking over at Spock who was sitting rigidly in the chair, scarcely moving, appearing not even to breathe or blink he was so intently focused on the sight of the Vengeance, "I have that transmission as requested."

"On the screen, please," Spock ordered.

"Standby."

They watched as…an older version of what looked like Spock appeared, "Mr. Spock," the older Vulcan greeted.

Spock surprised them all with his own greeting, "Mr. Spock."

~8~

"They're going to have full power, and we're walking," Scotty muttered as they headed through the halls, following Khan, the man knowing the ship better than them.

"Turbolifts are easily trapped and Marcus would have us in a cage," Khan turned to a small control pane, checking something quickly, "This path runs adjacent to the engine room. They know they won't be able use their weapons here without destabilizing the warp core which gives us the advantage."

"Where did you find this guy?"

"It's a long story," Kirk sighed.

"Um…Montgomery Scott," Cora began, feeling that Scotty deserved to know, "Khan has also been known as John Harrison."

"Harrison!?" Scotty turned to the captain.

"Not now Scotty," he huffed, walking off.

"Do not worry Montgomery Scott," Cora whispered, "He will not harm you or the others," she glanced at Wallace and Kirk as they followed the man, ahead of the two of them.

Scotty sighed, "One day, Lassie, I will get you to call me Scotty."

Cora just smiled, everyone on the ship said the same when she used their full names...only Chekov had succeeded, and he wasn't telling anyone how. He was curious to see who would work out how he'd done it and how long it would take.

~8~

"I will be brief," Spock spoke to his older self, "In your travels, did you ever encounter a man named Khan?"

Spock Prime was quiet a long moment, "As you know, I have made a vow never to give information that could potentially alter your destiny. Your path is yours to walk. And yours alone. That being said...Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ever faced. He is brilliant, ruthless, and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of you."

"Did you defeat him?"

"At great cost," Spock Prime sighed, "Yes."

"How?"

Spock Prime was silent, "Spock…where is Cora?"

Spock stiffened, "She is trapped onboard another ship, with Khan. Which explains my need to know how to stop him should the Captain fail."

Spock Prime nodded, eyeing his younger self intently, seeing the minutest of signs of exactly where his younger self was in his timeline, what he was experiencing. The curled fists, the slight trembling, his need for backup should the captain fail, the look in his eyes...it could only be one thing. Spock would NOT have breached the laws of time travel to ask him such questions if it was not of the utmost important and illogical reason, Cora.

~8~

"I don't mean to tempt fate here, but where_ is_ everybody?" Scotty whispered.

"The ship is designed to flown by minimal crew, one if necessary," Khan remarked.

"One?!" Scotty gaped.

"Back!" Cora shouted, pulling them back a moment before a man leapt out in front of them to attack, having sensed them coming.

Khan, however, took care of the attacker rather easily, but that did nothing to stop the other men from following the sounds of the attack and taking a chance on the crew as well. Scotty and Kirk tried to hold them off, but Wallace fired on one or two with her phaser.

"Cora!" Kirk called.

Cora ran forward and shoved one of the attackers away from Kirk so that he and the other men were in front of her with Kirk and Scotty behind, throwing out her hands to direct her abilities ahead of her, one of the few ways she could slightly direct her abilities, all the men just sort of falling over, sleeping.

"Are they…" Wallace eyed one of the fallen men, Cora had done something similar before but she hadn't seen how she'd done it as she had fallen asleep as well.

"Asleep," Cora reassured her.

"It's just so hard to find good help these days, isn't it?" Kirk joked.

"Um…Captain," Scotty called, "Where's Khan?"

They all looked ahead to see Khan was nowhere to be seen.

"Cora?" Kirk turned to her.

"This way," she led him off, following the sense she got of Khan, the anger and the…blackness she felt off him.

~8~

Spock was silent a moment after the call to his future self ended, before turning to Uhura, "Lieutenant, I need you to assemble all senior medical and engineering staff in the weapons' bay."

Uhura frowned at that request, but nodded, "Alright."

"Dr. McCoy," he got up and walked over to McCoy, "You inadvertently activated a torpedo, could you replicate the process?"

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" McCoy frowned.

"Can you or can you not?" Spock demanded, a hard note in his voice that told McCoy that would be the LAST time he repeated the question.

"Damn it man, I'm a _doctor_ not a torpedo technician!"

"The fact that you are a doctor is precisely why I need you to listen very carefully."

~8~

"Very good," Khan remarked as Cora led them right to Khan, standing further in a room, checking the security controls of it, making sure that they were invisible as they came up to the Bridge, "This way," he turned to lead them off again.

Kirk watched him go before grabbing Scotty's arm, "The minute we get to the Bridge, drop him."

"What, stun him?" Scotty frowned, "I think he's helping us."

"We are helping HIM," Cora confirmed Kirk's suspicions as she heard them speaking.

Kirk nodded, "That's an order Mr. Scott."

Scotty nodded and they headed out after Khan and Wallace, following the two through the halls, to a turbolift, able to hear men speaking in the room just beyond it, the Bridge, "Retarget the Enterprise, now," Marcus was saying.

They ran in, firing their phasers at the different men and women working in the Bridge, Cora behind them to make sure none of them were attacked from behind and, soon enough, all the men were knocked out, stunned, save for Marcus himself, sitting in the captain's chair.

Kirk moved in front of him, holding the phaser at him, Wallace and Cora on either side of the man with Scotty behind the chair, Khan behind HIM. He looked up, giving Scotty a nod and the man fired, striking Khan, knocking him down, "Make sure he stays down," he ordered and Scotty nodded and stepped past Cora, down to where Khan had fallen, aiming his phaser at the man, "Cora, help him," Kirk glanced at her, knowing she would sense, before even Scotty could notice, if Khan was starting to wake.

"Yes, Captain Kirk," she moved to join him.

"Admiral Marcus," Kirk turned back to the man, "You are under arrest."

"You're not actually going to _do_ this, are you?" Marcus glared at him.

"Admiral get out of the chair."

"You better stop and_ think_ about what are you're doing, Kirk," Marcus warned, "You better think about what you did on Kronos. You made an incursion onto an enemy planet. You killed a Klingon patrol. Even if you got away without trace, _war is coming_! And who's going to lead us? You?!" he scoffed, "If I'm not in charge, our entire way of life is _decimated_. So, you want me off this the ship, you better kill me."

Kirk shook his head at the man, seeing Wallace's eyes filling with tears to hear her father, the man who raised her, so…crazed and war-driven, to realize that this had been his plan the entire time, to create war, using Khan to do it, that the man had been telling them the truth about that at least, "I'm not going to kill you, sir. But I _could_ stun your ass and drag you out of that chair. But, I'd rather not do that in front of your _daughter_," he glanced at her, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Captain," Wallace nodded, touched that he was concerned for her.

"I am sorry Carol Wallace," Cora called, seeing the woman growing so upset, feeling sorry for her to see her father in such a light, feeling sorry that Khan had been truthful…

And that was all it took, one single look away from Khan, for him to have his chance. He leapt to his feet with a roar, knocking Scotty out with a fierce punch, backhanding Cora to the ground before he leapt at Kirk, attacking him, shoving him away and into the wall, as he ran after Marcus, the man trying to escape.

Wallace ran into her father's path, blocking Khan, "Wait, listen!"

But Khan shoved her to the ground, slamming his boot down on her leg, making her scream as he broke it, making Cora wince, feeling as though her own leg had been broken as well. The crew struggled to get up, to stop him, as he reached Marcus, grabbing the man's head, squeezing as hard as he could, Cora started to whimper off to the side, clutching her head in pain…

"_You should have let me sleep_!" Khan hissed at the man, Wallace screaming as he crushed Marcus's head with his bare hands.

"No!" Kirk shouted, lunging at the man, but Khan spun around and punched him across the face, kneeing him in the stomach and dropping him to the ground beside Wallace as she sobbed, trying not to look at her father's body.

Khan sneered down at the weakened Kirk before seeing flash of red hair and stalked over towards Cora…

~8~

"Where is the Captain, Mr. Sulu?" Spock called as he stood in the middle of the Bridge.

"Our sensor array are down, sir," Sulu replied, "I can't find him."

The viewscreen flickered on as Khan appeared, Spock freezing at the sight of him holding Cora by the back of the neck, a phaser held at the back of her head, "I'm going to make this very simple for you..." Khan began.

"Cora!" Spock cried, his eyes narrowing, his voice taking on a snarling note as he shouted, "Let her GO Khan!"

Khan just shook his head and tsked, grabbing a fistful of Cora's hair and yanking her head back, causing her to cry out in pain, "Let's try this, you interrupt me, I hurt her?" Khan smirked as Spock remained silent, oh he knew Cora would be a better bargaining chip than the man's dear Captain, especially considering the Vulcan was half-human and clearly experiencing Pon Farr, all the signs were there, which meant the man would be more inclined to make rather...illogical...decisions, "Now…the conditions…your mate and crew for my crew."

Spock's jaw tightened, "You betrayed us."

"Oh you _are_ smart, Mr. Spock," he mocked.

"Spock," Cora gasped, "Don't..."

But Khan slammed his knee into her back, making her scream in pain and fall to her own knees, before winding his arm around her neck and yanking her to her feet once more, tears in her eyes as she struggled to get out of his hold, in too much pain to think of attacking.

"Stop it!" Spock shouted.

"Mr. Spock, give me my crew," Khan threatened, moving his phaser back to Cora's head, to the side of it this time.

"And what will you do when you get them?"

"Continue the work we were doing before we were banished."

"Which, as I understand, involves the mass genocide of any being you find to be less than superior."

"Shall I destroy you, Mr. Spock? Oh…" he smiled, "No…I won't destroy YOU…" he shoved Cora forward, slamming the butt of his phaser into the back of her neck, sending her to the ground as he kicked her in the stomach.

"Khan!" Spock spat, shaking at seeing his mate being beaten and knowing that he wasn't there to protect her. He could see Kirk struggling to get up in the background, but it wasn't enough, Cora was being HURT! "Enough!"

"_Give me_ what I want," Khan demanded, aiming his phaser at Cora, the girl still visible on the viewscreen, on the ground, curling up on her side, in pain, whimpering.

"We have no transporter capabilities," Spock told him, already able to see a bruise forming on her face, clearly she'd been hit before Khan had started on this message...he was starting to see red.

"Fortunately, mine are perfectly functional. Drop your shields."

"No…" Cora tried to speak as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees, attempting to get up.

But Khan merely backhanded her once more, splitting her lip, sending her to the ground.

"Let's play this out logically, Mr. Spock," Khan continued, starting to crouch down behind Cora but staring out at Spock, smirking as he saw the man getting tenser, shaking, seeming more murderous and closer to giving in, "Firstly, I will take _enormous_ pleasure in not just killing your beloved mate, but in ensuring she suffers a worse pain than even the Mas'heirs were capable of," he smirked as she whimpered at that thought, reaching out to grab her throat, yanking her to sit up, "How do you think your resolve will fair?" he wondered, grabbing Cora's left arm and twisting it behind her, painfully, all of them able to hear a sickening pop as he half-tore it from its socket.

Cora hunched forward, in pain, drawing her knees up, trying to will the pain away.

"If your resolve holds," Khan continued, seeing Spock shaking in anger, knowing that was EXACTLY what he needed, the Vulcan so angry that he made the mistake of doing what he demanded, "I will have no choice, but to kill you and your entire crew as well."

"If you destroy our ship, you will also destroy your own people," Spock reminded him, trying to seem like they had the upper hand, trying to keep himself from giving in or making a mistake that would lead to Cora's death.

"Your crew requires oxygen to survive, mine does not. Does your mate Spock?" he wondered, putting his arm around Cora's neck again and hauling her to her feet, applying pressure as he tried to choke her, "I will target your life support systems located Behind the arc cell. And, after every single person onboard your ship suffocates, I will walk over your cold corpses to recover my people!" he shoved Cora to the ground as she gasped for breath, coughing, "Now..." he aimed his phaser at her one more time, "Shall we begin?" he looked up to see Spock's eyes on Cora, "Or shall we drag this out…" he kicked her in the stomach, "A little," and again, "Longer…" and once more.

~8~

Cora hit the ground hard, shaking, on her stomach, panting, hardly able to breathe in…_so much pain_. A pain that was all too familiar to her, a pain that she hadn't expected to ever feel again…

It was like the Mas'heirs only...surprisingly...less painful.

She could hear the others as she closed her eyes, trying to push the pain away. She could hear Kirk shouting for her, Wallace crying, Spock shouting at Khan, the man laughing…

"Or shall I move onto your captain now?" Khan was asking, "Or your crew?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, her hands curling into fists…feeling…_something_…rising in her.

"Lower Shields," Spock ordered.

No! No, he couldn't…

Khan ran to one of the controls, seeing the torpedoes transported in, "I see, all the 72 torpedoes are still in their tubes. If they are not mine, Commander I _will_ know it."

"Vulcans do not lie," she could hear Spock, his voice hard, angry, he was losing control, he was making mistakes…and she knew it was because of her, he and the rest of the crew would suffer because of her...because she could sense that Khan was NOT going to let them go, "The torpedoes are yours."

"Congratulations, Mr. Spock," Khan stepped away from the controls once more, moving before the viewscreen, "For making quite the_ illogical_ decision," he grinned, "I wonder why that happened," he hummed, "Either way, now that I have the torpedoes, I have no need for you or your crew…" he ran to a control, "Locking phasers," he laughed, "And to think, you have opened yourself to attack over a weak, worthless slave…"

Cora shook her head, no…no this _couldn't_ happen…she couldn't let it happen, she couldn't let them be hurt because of her...

And then…she heard Spock's voice, a memory of what he'd once said to her in the past…

'_This is not causing harm. This is…defense, this is rescue, this is…about strength. This is about you being stronger than the Mas'heirs Cora, being stronger than anyone who would wish to harm you out of a sheer desire for control and power. You ARE stronger than them. If you can face this enemy, you can face them._'

She swallowed hard, her eyes opening, "No!" she shouted, throwing out her good arm and Khan tensed, his back arching as he fell to his knees, "You are wrong," she pushed herself to her feet, looking at the man with a hard look in her eyes, "And I will NOT let you harm my family," she told him, taking a step towards him, only to stumble, her leg hurting in a phantom pain of Wallace's, but Kirk caught her, "I am not worthless, I am not a slave, and I am certainly _not weak_!"

Kirk watched in awe as Khan fell to the ground, his back still arched, his veins protruding in his neck, his eyes starting to roll into the back of his head and he realized…

_Cora_ was attacking _him _back.

"Cora stop," he ordered her, knowing that this was going against _everything_ she believed in to stop the man from hurting the crew, her family, "Cora!" and Cora dropped her hand and fell to the side, right into Kirk's arms, spent, "Scotty!" he shouted, "Get the transport working," he ordered, lifting Cora into his arms.

Scotty leapt to his feet, having started coming around, and ran to the controls, "Got it!"

~8~

The crew watched as the lights of the transporter wrapped around the four of them and they disappeared, Spock running out of the Bridge. Sulu looked back as Spock ran out, "Shields at 6 percent!" he shouted over the comms. to whichever captain was supposed to be in charge at the moment as the ship was fired on, Khan having recovered from Cora's attack with the girl not there to continue it, "Prepare for immediate proximity detonation!"

"What's he talking about?" Spock heard Scotty saying as he drew nearer to the transport room, "What detonation?"

"The torpedoes," Kirk called, "He armed the damn torpedoes."

"Cora!" Spock ran over to them, seeing the men coming around the corner, Cora in Kirk's arms, shaking, as Scotty helped Wallace walk, "Give her to me," he nearly growled at Kirk, who immediately handed her over, "Cora…" he spoke more gently, gazing down at her, feeling his heart both race at having her so near and slow at seeing her alive and back with him.

Cora blinked her eyes open to see Spock, "Hello," she whispered, her voice hoarse with pain.

He let his head fall, resting his forehead to hers, as he closed his eyes, connecting his mind to hers in a brief moment, needing to know she was alright.

Cora reached out to touch his face, "It is just a bit of pain," she offered him a smile, "I have lived through far worse," she managed a laugh as well, "Khan continues to underestimate me."

Spock nodded, turning to carry her to the med-bay, the Pon Farr stilled for only a moment as relief flooded him instead of adrenaline, he needed to be quick, get her help while he could still think of that and not that she was in his arms. Kirk and Scotty followed with Wallace, barely stumbling as the ship shook, the sound of explosions going off in the other ship.

"Bones!" Kirk yelled as they ran into the med-bay, "Bones!"

"Nurse!" McCoy called as a nurse and Uhura took Wallace from them, "Lay her here," McCoy moved to Spock, leading him to a small medical bed to place Cora down, "Damn it, what the hell did he_ do_ to her?"

"Underestimated her," Kirk remarked, smiling proudly at her, recalling how she had fought back...it was..._amazing_. Because if SHE could fight back, an 11th child, one who had been beaten and conditioned more than average for her people, then there was hope that the rest of her people could one day fight back as well. All it took was a spark to start a fire.

"Good to see you, Jim," McCoy greeted.

Kirk looked at him, "You helped Spock detonate those torpedoes?"

"Damn right I did."

"He killed Khan's crew."

"No…" Cora murmured, "They are…" she winced, trying to shift and point, only to grab her arm as she recalled it was in a great deal of pain at the moment...and rather useless, "Here…"

McCoy nodded, "Spock's cold, but he not _that_ cold…" even with the Pon Farr, which was something, it seemed his fear for Cora had helped a bit of logical thought break through, "I've got Khan's crew," he led Kirk to the side, to another hall of the med-bay where all 72 crew members were resting, still froze in their tubes, "72 human popsicles, safe and sound in their cryo-tubes."

"Son of a bitch…" Kirk muttered.

"Um, Captain?" Scotty cut in, "If you and Commander Spock are_ here_…who's captain on the Bridge?"

The two men looked at each other, "Mr. Spock…" Kirk began.

Spock looked at Cora, "Go," she whispered, squeezing the hand that was holding hers, "He left you in charge."

Spock swallowed hard but nodded, rushing out of the room, to stay around her any longer, knowing that she was in pain, knowing _Khan_ did it…he could feel his anger rising, he needed a distraction...

Cora watched him go a long moment…before her world went black…

~8~

A jolt woke Cora what felt like only moments later, to see the med-bay was in a state of panic. From what she could gather from all the shouting, the ship had lost power, the warp core had something to do with it, and they were falling towards Earth. Everything was a mess, half the room was destroyed, half the ship more like it, as more and more people were injured…she could feel THAT, all over the ship people were hurt, people were dying. She groaned…when suddenly it started to stabilize, the ship starting to calm in its shaking…

She winced, looking around, feeling…a pain, a terrible, horrible pain, someone was suffering so_ terribly_...

She flinched at it, feeling tears in her eyes, recognizing what it was, _who_ it was. She pushed herself out of the medical bed, looking around to see no one seemed to notice her standing there, all too focused on getting things right. She turned and stumbled forward, taking a moment to gather her strength before she pushed herself on.

That pain…it was _Kirk_…

~8~

"Cora!" she heard someone yell as she managed to struggle her way to Engineering. She was feeling…better, stronger. Now that she was back with the crew, away from Khan, and had a moment to rest…she knew what was her own pain and what was the pain of the others. Her back was sore, her stomach hurt as did her head, but McCoy had managed to relocate her shoulder when she'd been unconscious and, all in all, she was doing ok. That was one thing to be said for Empathics, they had adapted to be remarkably quick healers given all the Mas'heirs put them through.

She looked over to see Spock running towards her, "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

She just looked at him, in tears, "James T. Kirk is in pain."

He frowned, looking around for the man, knowing it must be a terrible pain for _Cora_ to be in tears for it, only to see Scotty standing before a door, staring at it. He walked over cautiously with Cora following, staring in horror at what lay beyond, "Open it."

"The decontamination process is not complete," Scotty shook his head, "You'll flood the whole compartment. The door is locked, sir."

Cora shook her head, "No…" she breathed, moving to the door and kneeling before it, seeing Kirk lying within, closing a tunnel door, locked in a chamber that was flooding with radiation. It was clear now why they were stable, what Kirk had done, something to get the warp core back online and working once more.

"James T. Kirk," Cora frowned, feeling tears pool more in her eyes as she felt his pain, the pain he was trying to hide, a pain he was trying not to feel, as he smiled up at her.

"Still with the…James T. Kirk, eh?" he let out a pained laugh, "Cora...just once, before I..." he groaned, "Just...call me Jim, please...just _once_."

Cora nodded, "Ok...Jim."

Spock moved to kneel beside her, staring at Kirk in horror as the man looked up at him, "How's our ship?"

"Out of danger," Spock replied, his throat tightening with emotion he was struggling to control with the Pon Farr reacting to his mate being upset and the upsetting situation his...friend...was in.

"Good," he nodded, "How's my girl?" he looked at Cora, "Like my _sister_ Spock," he added, seeing Spock glare at him automatically before he could control it.

"I am…" she shook her head, she didn't know the word for it.

"You saved the crew," Spock told him.

"You used what he wanted against him," Kirk murmured, "That's a nice move."

"It is what you would have done."

"And this…" he winced, "This is what _you_ would have done. It was only logical," he panted, looking up at them, "Help me to understand, Spock…how do you choose not to feel it?"

"I do not know," Spock whispered, struggling, starting to shake both at the weakness he saw in Kirk's eyes and how much more his mate was being upset by all of it, "Right now I am failing."

Kirk nodded, "Fail some more," he nodded at Cora, "Fail with her. She's…one of the reasons I couldn't let you die...why I went back for you. Because you're my friend, and she's my sister," he rolled his eyes to Cora, "Cora…" he wheezed, "I…don't want to ask…"

"Ask," she cut in, "I will do it...Jim."

He smiled at her for using his name, "I…I'm_ scared_," he admitted, "Please…" he blinked, tears in his eyes, "Don't let it hurt."

She nodded, knowing he was thinking of Pike and what she'd done for him as well, before lifting a hand to rest on the window. Kirk closed his eyes, drifting off, his last moments peaceful and free of pain…

Cora let out a sob, bowing her head as she felt it, as she felt him die, felt the life leave him in a single breath, unable to block it, unable to help herself. It _hurt_. Kirk had always taken care of her, become like a brother to her, family was one of the most important things to an Empathic…and she had lost a member of it…

Spock stared at his fallen friend, before he reached out and placed a hand on Cora's back, she was projecting slightly, her pain, sharing it with those immediately around her. He closed his eyes, taking a breath, feeling himself shaking…his mate was in pain, his friend was dead, his mate was in pain, his crew was injured, and his_ mate_ was in_ pain_…all because of _Khan_. Cora was suffering because of this, she had been trapped in an explosion and firefight, placed in the middle of a Klingon battle, dragged through an emotional onslaught, kidnapped, beaten, and now this…all because of Khan.

He opened his eyes, feeling the anger, no...feeling _murder_ rising in him, "Khaaaaaan!" he screamed, before shoving himself to his feet and storming out of engineering, Scotty running to Cora's side to comfort her as Spock went on a clear rampage…

~8~

Spock ran onto the Bridge in time to see the Vengeance crashing to Earth, landing in the middle of a city, undoubtedly killing thousands more, but that wasn't on his mind, what _was_ on his mind was the one person who had likely NOT been killed in the crash, "Search the enemy ship for signs of life!" he snapped the order.

"Sir, there's no way anyone survived…" Sulu began.

"_He_ could," Spock cut in.

Sulu frowned, hearing a dangerous note in his voice, "Yes, sir…" he brought up footage of the crash…all of them watching, stunned as Khan appeared, jumping out of the ship to the ground, "Whoa, he just jumped 30 meters!"

"Can we beam him up?" Spock demanded, sounding almost as if he were snarling or barely controlling himself.

"There's too much damage," Chekov, who had returned to his position upon the arrival of Scotty, called, "I have no in coming signal. But it may be possible to beam you down, sir."

Spock didn't even hesitate, just turned to run out.

Uhura frowned, seeing him go, seeing something _wrong_, and ran out, "Where's Cora?" she asked, Sulu she hadn't seen the girl in the med-bay when things had calmed, but thought she'd gone with Spock, if she wasn't there or here…

"Engineering," Sulu tracked her.

Uhura nodded and ran out of the room.

~8~

"Standby for coordinates," Spock called to the transport controller as he stalked onto the pad.

"Yes sir," the man nodded.

"Enter 3517*2518," Chekov called a moment later.

"Coordinates confirmed."

Spock pulled out a phaser as the beam sent him down to Earth. He spotted Khan in the crowd and took off after him…

~8~

Uhura led Cora into the Bridge, having reached the girl in Engineering to see them…taking Kirk's body away for the med-bay, the man having died of radiation poisoning. She needed to get her to the Bridge, because she was sure something was wrong with Spock and that something was going t happen, something bad.

And sure enough, she was right. They could see the footage on the viewscreen of Spock and Khan, on top of a local shuttle, fighting, both of them viciously attacking the other, not seeming about to stop till one killed the other…

"McCoy to Bridge!" McCoy's voice came over the comms., "I can't reach Spock. I need Khan_ alive_, you get that son of a bitch back onboard right now! I think he can save Kirk."

"Can we beam them up to the ship?" Sulu turned to Chekov.

"They keep moving," the boy shook his head, "I can't get a lock on either of them."

"Can you beam someone down?" Uhura asked.

"Send me," Cora offered.

"No," Sulu shook his head, "Cora if we send you down there Khan will kill you to get to Spock..."

"And Spock will kill _him_," Cora argued.

"He won't…will he?" Chekov asked.

"He's in the middle of Pon Farr," she told them, knowing they wouldn't know what it was but her tone implying it was something dangerous, "Please, he WILL kill Khan, I'm the only one he'll listen to as his mate!"

"Go," Uhura urged.

Cora nodded, rushing out of the room to the transport…

~8~

On Earth, Cora appeared on the transport unit behind Khan and Spock, the two men still fighting. She ran over and put her hand on Khan's back, Khan tensing, feeling the pain enter him. He turned, grabbing her wrist as he fought against it, but that was all she needed, physical contact to keep it going. Khan stepped towards her as she stepped back, struggling to get her to stop, trying to push past it enough to attack her…when he was smacked in the back of the head by Spock, the man bashing him with a metal beam, over and over before he grabbed the man's arm and broke it over his shoulder.

"Spock!" Cora cried, stumbling back as Khan let her go.

But Spock slammed Khan onto the shuttle and began to punch him over and over across the face.

"Spock stop!" she pleaded, but he didn't…he really_ was_ going to kill the man!

So she did the only think she could think of...she threw herself forward, lunging at Spock, tackling him back as she pressed her mouth to his, sending him as much calm as she could through the kiss, which wasn't much given the Pon Farr had reached critical levels, he was beyond stopping for too long.

"Please," she whispered, pulling away, her teal eyes begging him to listen, "He can save the captain," she told him, rolling off him and touching Khan, sending the man to sleep just as he struggled to get up again, "Beam us up!" she called…and they disappeared in a flash of light.

Spock sat up, finding himself sitting on the transport pad, Khan passed out before him, as McCoy ran in with Uhura and two other crew members to grab the man.

"Come on," Cora said, reaching out to take Spock's hand, half-dragging him to his feet and pulling him to the door, a surprising feat for someone as small as her, "We need to go."

"Where are you going?" McCoy shouted, "I need to examine you both!"

"We are going to have sex!" Cora yelled back, "Examine us later!"

McCoy just dropped Khan flat at that, the man's head thumping on the floor as McCoy stared at the door, "Did she just say…" before he shook his head, frantic, "I heard _nothing_!"

Uhura...just started laughing.

~8~

"Cora stop!" Spock finally managed to pull himself together, to break through the fog that had surrounded his mind from the moment Cora had kissed him on the transport unit. He blinked, realizing she'd managed to pull him all the way to their room despite the debris in the halls, and he couldn't let this happen.

"Spock..." she cut in, "I _know_."

He swallowed hard, knowing that Kirk had likely told her about the Pon Farr, "I cannot let you..."

"You are not my master," Cora interrupted again as he stared at her, "I am sorry if you feel the Pon Farr has taken your choice from you as to when this should happen, but I will not allow you to take that decision from me as well. You do not get to decide what _I_ do," she let out a breath, shaking her head, "Spock...why are you trying to _stop_ this?" she took a step closer to him, a step he didn't move back from, a step he didn't seem able to move back from.

"Your people..." he began, feeling his voice grow softer as he stared into her eyes, "Touch and...unions such as this...are_ sacred_ to them..."

"And it should have happened MONTHS ago," she added, making him blink, staring in shock, "My people, when we find the one for us," she reached up to touch his face, smiling as he automatically (and probably a good deal quicker than normal) leaned into her touch, his eyes drifting closed "We do not wait very long," she whispered, "I was waiting for YOU Spock," he looked at her and she gave a soft laugh, "You think you are the only one who...feels that?"

He gasped, feeling his body start to shake as emotions poured into him, NOT a good thing given the Pon Farr and the nature of such feelings. He could feel it, he knew she was doing what he had once asked her to do, projecting her feelings to him, allowing HIM to feel what she was feeling. And he truly could feel it, feel a burning in her almost as strongly as in him, a...desire for _him_. He could feel her comfort, her contentment, he could feel her acceptance and...her longing for this to happen. He felt the breath leave him as Cora moved close and pressed her lips to his.

He couldn't do it, not anymore, not after that. Because now he knew, he could feel it himself, that the Pon Farr wasn't driving her to this, he wasn't pushing her, and his ultimate fate should it not happen wasn't even a consideration. This was something she was ready for, had been waiting for, and every excuse he had had in mind for why this shouldn't happen...had been dashed. This was just...what Cora wanted. This was what his mate wanted to happen...

He couldn't refuse her, not now.

He wound his arms around her, pulling her closer as he kissed her back with a ferocity that startled a small portion of his mind, the small part that still clung to logic and rational thought, a small part that was currently being shoved into a corner and buried behind a thick door. No, this was not a time for rational thought, this...this was a time to do as Cora would, and just...feel. And now, with Cora in his arms, pressed against him, wanting him as much as he did her...

He wanted more.

He turned, blindly reaching out for the door to their room, not taking his arms or lips away from her as they stumbled through, into the dark space beyond, the door sliding shut behind them...

~8~

_Two weeks later…_

"He is waking up," Kirk heard Cora speak softly as he slowly blinked his eyes open, to see he was in a stark white room, McCoy, all in white, leaning over him.

"Oh don't be so melodramatic," the man said, "You were barely dead. That transfusion really took its toll. You were out cold for two weeks."

"Transfusion?" Kirk frowned.

"Your cells were heavily irradiated. We had no choice."

"Khan?"

"Once we caught him, I synthesized a serum from his super-blood. Tell me, are you feeling homicidal? Power-mad? Despotic?"

"No more than usual. How'd you catch him?"

"I didn't," he nodded to the side, stepping away to reveal Spock and Cora standing there, Spock as stiff and straight as ever but with Cora standing close to him, her hands clasped before her as she looked up at Spock, letting him know it was more Spock's doing than someone else's.

"You saved my life?" he smiled at Spock.

"Cora and I had something to do with it too you know," McCoy remarked.

"You saved _my_ life, Captain," Spock stepped up with Cora, Kirk eyeing how in sync they were moving, how...comfortable Spock seemed to be with Cora, more than he could recall the man ever being, "And the lives of many oth..."

"Stop," Kirk cut in, "Just…thank you."

"You are welcome, Jim."

Kirk glanced at Cora, who was smiling, beaming really, standing closer to Spock...who was FAR more relaxed (even standing as straight as he was) than he remembered the man being last time, "Someone seems happy."

"Don't…" McCoy began warningly.

"Yes," Cora answered, smiling up at Spock again as the man actually _smiled_ back at her, "We had sex."

Kirk blinked a few times before looking at McCoy, "How much morphine did you_ give_ me?"

McCoy laughed, "I _wish_ I'd given you that much."

Kirk shook his head, "I really don't want to know," he remarked before glancing at Spock, "You're ok now?"

"Yes," the Vulcan nodded, "As Cora said, we…"

"I really DON'T need to know!" Kirk cut in, trying to cover his ears.

"Finished our mating," Spock smirked.

Kirk shook his head, but really…he was just happy they were alright again, that Cora was healed and Spock wasn't dying.

~8~

"_There will always be those who mean to do us harm, to stop them we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge, when those we love are taken from us. But that's not who we are. We are here today to rechristen the USS Enterprise. And to honor those who lost their lives, nearly one year ago. When Christopher Pike first gave me his ship, he had me recite the captain's oath. Words I didn't appreciate at the time. Now I see them as a call for us to remember who we once were, and who we must be again. And those words...Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Her five years mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilization...to boldly go where no one has gone before_."

~8~

"Captain on ze Bridge!" Chekov called as Kirk entered the Bridge, smiling as he saw Sulu sitting on the captain's chair.

"It's hard to get out of it once you've had a taste," he laughed as Sulu got up, "Isn't that right, Mr. Sulu?"

"Captain _does_ have a nice ring to it," Sulu remarked, "The chair is all yours, sir."

"Mr. Scott, how's our core?"

"Purring like a kitten, Captain," Scotty called over the comm., "She's ready for a long journey."

"Excellent," he grinned, slapping McCoy on the arm as he passed him, "Come on, Bones, it's gonna be fun!"

"Five years in space, God help me," McCoy muttered.

"Dr. Marcus," he walked over to the blonde as she stood by one of the controls, "I'm glad you could be part of the family."

Wallace turned to him, "It's nice to have a family."

"Spock, Cora," he greeted as well, the two at Spock's post, unable to help but laugh when he saw Cora had the Tribble in her arms, petting it gently.

"Captain," Spock nodded.

"Jame…" Cora began.

"Cora," Kirk cut in.

She smiled, "Jim."

He winked at her, "Where should we go?" he asked them.

"As a mission of this duration has never been attempted..." Spock remarked, "I defer to your good judgment, Captain."

Kirk grinned, nodding as he moved to sit in his chair, looking around at the crew. He glanced at Uhura, nodding at her as she smiled back at him, before he called, "Mr. Sulu, take us out!"

"Aye, Captain," Sulu nodded, the ship taking off into their next adventure.

To be continued…in…The Body vs. the Soul!

A/N: Two things...first...lol, 'we are going to have sex!' For some reason, I could only imagine Cora just blurting that out, no idea why. Second, I can't believe it's over! O.O I'm so sad :'( But still sort of happy that it's completed and that there WILL be another story to come in the series :) This series will be put on hold till the next movie comes out and then will pick up again :) After that I have an original sort of 'finishing' story that should tie up the entire Archives series, but we'll have to wait till the next movie for it ;) If there is no next movie (though I've heard there is) then once it's confirmed, I'd continue with the last story in its place ;)

I just want to say thank you all :) All of you who read/favorited/followed/reviewed/enjoyed this story/series :) I'm really glad that you've all liked it so far and I hope that you'll enjoy any future stories to come both in this series and my Kirk/OC (coming out 2014). I'm truly touched that you like it and I just wanted to say thanks :) You guys are one of the reasons I write and I love you all :')

For anyone who's interested, check tomorrow for a Loki/OC story ;)

Some notes on reviews...(I'll answer any that might pop up for this chapter at the start of the next installment of the Archives ;))...

The Khan/OC might happen, but it would probably be only 1 story, and probably won't be up (if I do it) till after the Kirk/OC. But I'll definitely announce near the end of that one if I'll be doing one for Khan ;)

The Loki/OC story will be up bright and early (for me anyway, 6:45 am EST) tomorrow ;)

I hope you liked the Tribble, Cora's definitely keeping it :)

I hope you enjoyed the little bit of butt whooping Cora gave Khan ;)

Yup, I did the USS Vengeance falling to Earth (even if it was a passing remark), but Spock totally HAD to beat Khan, I sort of felt like, even seeing Kirk dying, Spock's reaction was a bit extreme...but the Pon Farr explained that ;)

Lol, yup, the story's over today! :( I'm glad you're excited for the future stories :)

Little bit more here about her thoughts mating to him ;) I agree, that'll be a theme for the next story, them communicating in words :) It's like, he can read her mind but thinking isn't the same as feeling (like Kirk said) and she can feel him but that doesn't mean she knows what he's thinking :) I hope you liked Cora's reaction and decision about the Pon Farr and the mating ;)

Thank YOU for reading every day :) And thanks! I love you too :)


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